The Ministry Six
by killfxx
Summary: The Ministry Six, hitting walls with all of the adults, secretly begin their own preparation for war. Their response to a Death Eater attack on Hogsmeade surprises not only Voldemort but the Order as well. Better summary in the first chapter. H/G R/Hr N/L
1. To Sleep Perchance To Dream

SUMMARY- Confined to the Hospital Wing after the night in the Department of Mysteries, Harry has a series of dreams that lead him to make a choice between trusting his friends, or Dumbledore and the Order.

Up to their necks in the oncoming war and hitting walls with all of the adults in their lives The Ministry Six, aided by a spell from Luna, an unexpected surprise from Sirius, and their contacts in the D.A., begin their own training and preparation for the oncoming war.

But when their response to a Death Eater attack on Hogsmeade surprises not only Voldemort, but the Order as well, the real confrontation begins As Order invitations are declined, a drastic plan by Mrs. Weasley is thwarted, and Dumbledore and the Order are forced to reevaluate everything they thought they knew.

DISCLAIMER- Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. I am forever in debt to J.K. Rowling for creating such a wonderful world to play in.

DEDICATION- This story is dedicated to Donnamarie Plum. My Teacher. My Mother. My Friend. Taken suddenly fifteen years ago. I still miss her everyday.

AN- This story starts following the night of the trip to the Department of Mysteries in the Order of the Phoenix. It may or may not contain events from The Half Blood Prince and The Deathly Hallows.

I don't know who coined the phrase 'The Ministry Six', but it was not I. Credit goes to whom it is due.

Parts of this chapter are taken directly from The Order of the Phoenix by our lovely Ms Rowling.

Many thanks go to my beta Amber. Without her work this story would be a lot more incomprehensible.

Chapter 1- To Sleep, Perchance to Dream

It was 2am, more than a week after the trip to the Ministry, and Harry Potter was the only one awake in the Hospital Wing of Hogwarts School. He was restless, quietly pacing the floor between the two rows of beds- Beds filled with friends who were here because of him. The five of them had followed him to the Ministry of Magic, and right into a trap.

He hated staying in the Hospital Wing but Madam Pomfrey refused to release any of them. Professor McGonagall had been summoned when Harry had gotten into an argument with the Matron five days ago. Within 10 minutes of each other both Madam Pomfrey and Mrs. Weasley, who was visiting, had insisted he take some Dreamless Sleep Potion for his own good and it had pushed Harry over the edge. He refused to take any more potions, sick of everyone else thinking they knew what was best for him. He wanted everybody to leave him alone and he wanted out of the Hospital Wing. Professor McGonagall had come down and insisted he stay but told him he didn't have to take any potions if he didn't want to.

Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Neville, all veterans at reading his moods, left him his space, only speaking to him if he started the conversation. Luna, either taking her cue from the others or driven by her own knowledge, didn't speak to him beyond telling him that she knew what she was doing by coming with him to the Ministry and the outcome of that night, had she not come along, was unacceptable. Harry was left to wonder if she somehow did know what would have happened had she been left behind, and what it was that was so unacceptable, but she declined to say anything further to him, or Hermione, who took up the line of questioning after he had conceded it pointless to keep asking.

No longer on the Dreamless Sleep Potion, he had expected to have nightmares. He normally had nightmares anyway and after what had happen he was expecting it, but so far he had only experienced some very odd dreams.

_He was standing at the edge of a ravine, clouds swirled overhead and the wind whipped around him. He looked down into the blackness. It seemed to go on forever, a bottomless pit. Behind him stretched a long road. He turned his back on the ravine as something drew him to walk down the road instead._

_His feet hurt and he was getting frustrated at the empty, seemingly endless road when he saw Ron waiting for him. Harry smiled and waved as he hurried to his side. Ron waved and smiled back. Harry stopped suddenly and gasped in surprise. There was something in Ron's face, in his eyes that shocked Harry. He could see it. Power. Great power. It was hidden just below the surface. A slow smoldering that would only take a spark to ignite the inferno. They walked on together in silence, Harry lost in thought._

_Around a bend in the road stood Hermione. Ron jogged forward and swept her up, twirling her around in his arms. She threw her head back and laughed, and Harry's heart skipped a beat. She was beautiful. Her hair shone in the sunlight, a rich golden brown. Her eyes danced with intelligence and friendship when she smiled at him. __She was trim and had developed curves in the right places when he wasn't looking.__ She linked arms with him and Ron and the three of them continued down the road together._

_Harry was somehow not surprised to see Neville ahead of them. Again he did a double take: Gone was the stuttering little boy that Snape loved to torment. Everyone had noticed the slightly alarming change that Bellatrix Lestrange's escape had wrought in Neville, but this! He stood tall and proud, radiating confidence, the steely glint in his eye making Harry look deeper. Here too he could see power smoldering! The four of them continued down the road, Harry moving at a slightly faster pace now, anxious to see who was next. _

_It was Ginny. She ran towards them smiling. Harry's heart skipped again. Her long hair flying behind her seemed to glitter in the sunlight, her eyes dancing with intelligence and mischief as she hugged her brother. She had developed curves when he had not been looking as well, though she was thinner and more athletic-looking than Hermione. He could see the shadow of darkness he knew was from her own encounter with Voldemort, but it was hidden deep and almost blotted out by the power she radiated. There __was too__ much of it to stay hidden, and she nearly glowed with it._

Well, that just leaves Luna,_ he thought as he saw her come skipping around the next corner, her too with eyes shining and smiling brightly, so unlike her normal image of vague interest. She looked at him with her eyes slightly unfocused as usual, as if her mind was off elsewhere. Then she pinned him in her gaze and his world tilted. He would have fallen if Ron and Neville had not grabbed him. She had power, too. A power that most couldn't handle, and she knew it. Her eyes unfocused again, releasing his gaze; she hid it on purpose he realized, she had to._

_He walked slightly behind, pondering the power he saw in them. Did everyone have a greater power in them? Did he? Ginny had somehow tapped into hers and it was out there for anyone to see, and he wondered how he had never noticed it. He understood that Luna's was dangerous and was concealed by choice. Ron, Neville, and Hermione too had it, smoldering just below the surface, awaiting a spark to ignite the inferno. He wondered what that spark might be?_

_They came to the end of the road __where __a small house stood in a clearing of trees. There was a single main room, and there was nothing inside but mirrors covering the walls. All he could see was reflections of himself and his friends, reflections of reflections. He stared at the six of them. The way they carried themselves seemed different than he recalled. There was a hard, firm look in their eyes, and they all seemed to radiate confidence and strength. Ron and Neville stood beside him, the three of them all broad shoulders and hard angles; Hermione, Ginny, and Luna all soft skin and graceful curves. He was surprised he didn't walk around crashing into walls. He was obviously blind. He had never noticed before, how much they had grown up._

He spent a great deal of time staring at them all the next day and found to his surprise the same conclusion he had been shown in his dream. Mere teenagers they may be, but they worry over the oncoming war and for friends and family, and being put into life threatening situations had aged them prematurely.

_He stood in the mirror chamber in his first year, only this time Ron and Hermione were by his side and face to face with Voldemort. But, when Quirell reached for him this time, a force swept him up and he landed in his bedroom on Privet Drive, leaving Ron and Hermione there alone. "Stay safe till it is your time," commanded a voice on the wind, and it sounded like Professor Moody. He banged on the locked door. He had to get back, he had to help them, and then his scar burned and he knew he was too late to help Hermione._

_He was in the Chamber of Secrets his second year, running towards the small black robed figure at the feet of the statue. He slipped and fell, landing on his bed on Privet Drive __once more__. "It is not your time yet, you are too young," said a voice on the __wind__.__I__t__ sounded like Mrs. Weasley this time. His scar __burned__ in pain, his eyes filled with tears, and he knew Ginny had not survived._

_He stood on the Hogwarts grounds with Ron and Neville. The Grim dragged Ron off to the lake while he and Snape watched, and the Dementors swarmed down on them. Harry shivered as the cold penetrated his soul, his eyes closed and the voice spoke again. "It is too dangerous here, you must stay safe until it is the right time." Kingsley, he thought. His eyes snapped open and he was again locked up __o__n Privet Drive, Ron far beyond his help._

_He was in the graveyard. Again face to face with Voldemort, but he was drained of hope and too tired to fight. Voldemort shot the Killing Curse at him and Luna appeared out of nowhere and stepp__ed__ in its path. "Things must proceed as fate dictates. Only you can save us all," she said before she fell. Harry drew his wand, only to be swept off again to Privet Drive, his scar blazing, as the voice (Dumbledore?) echoed Luna's words "Only you can save us all. But you must stay safe until I tell you it is your time to fight."_

_He was in the Death Chamber with Neville, before the veil. The Order had arrived and so had Voldemort: he stood facing Harry, laughing. He cast a Jelly Legs Jinx, as if Harry was not even worthy of the effort, and he was swept away again to Privet Drive; he hadn't even a chance to__ draw his wand. He lay on his bed, his scar burning, as Voldemort killed Neville and the all the Order members. This time the voice said nothing._

_He was once again in the Death Chamber, but he looked old, so much older than he knew he was. "This is it," said the voice. "Now is the time to fulfill your purpose." The stone benches were filled with people who had come to watch, Order members, and Ministry employees. "What are you waiting for?" asked the voice. "Go ahead and kill him. I told you to do it now," it demanded. Harry stared blankly as Voldemort walked along the benches killing everyone there, laughing at Harry all the while. "I have protected you all these years so you could kill him when I told you to, now do it," the voice said._

_Harry looked at all of the people just sitting on the benches waiting for Voldemort to kill them. "What if I don't want to do this?" he asked._

"_This is the only reason you were born. Now get on with it." The voice demanded. Harry glanced behind him at the fluttering black veil. He thought back on all his friends who had been killed when they shouldn't have been. Hermione was fine after first year, Ginny had lived after the Chamber of Secrets, and Ron and Luna and Neville__ should all have survived. But t__hey were all gone. He could hear their voices behind the veil. They were all together and he wanted to join them. He missed his friends. "The Prophecy didn't say you needed friends. Stop being so stupid. Kill Voldemort, and hurry up." He turned to the swaying black veil. _Let them all fend for themselves, _h__e thought as he stepped through to the other side._

He woke up seething in anger. He was no one's tool to be used, kept locked away till they decided it was time. He knew it was only a dream, but it hit much too close to how he was feeling now. He had lost too many people he loved in the effort to keep him safe. He wasn't a child to be kept sheltered. He was to be a main player in this war, whether they liked it or not. He was much more capable than any of them, and after breaking into the Ministry of Magic and fighting Death Eaters, it appeared his friends were as well.

_He stood before a large screen much like a Muggle telly. The screen was divided down the center. On one side memories played, and he watched Mrs. Weasley fuss over him, Ron, Ginny, and the twins. He saw himself pacing in frustration on Privet Drive with no information, cut off from the Wizarding world. Madam Pomfrey was pushing potions on him and his friends. Mrs. Weasley was pushing food on them. Dumbledore sat before him, admitting that if he had told Harry about the Prophecy sooner, Sirius could still be alive. He saw Sirius' head in the fire telling Ron that Mrs. Weasley expressly forbid him from joining the DA; they were being forced out of the kitchen for yet another Order meeting and told to go to bed as someone cast an Imperturbable Charm on the door._

_The other side of the screen was also playing memories, and he watched himself and Ron rescue Hermione from the troll on his first Halloween at Hogwarts. Followed by the three of them and Neville in front of Fluffy the night they found themselves in the third floor corridor, and he watched through all his years at Hogwarts, all the way through to the night in the Department of Mysteries. It was odd to only watch it from the outside, but one thing was painfully clear from this perspective: He had nearly died on more than one of those occasions._

The morning found him deep in introspection. Facing death apparently had an abrupt way of reshuffling one's priorities. He felt unshakable faith and assurance in his friends, but crumbling trust in the adults in his life. No matter the precautions, trouble always seemed to find him and his friends anyway. As safe as everyone said Hogwarts was, that didn't change the facts. He sat, turning everything over and over in his mind till night fell again and he slept uneasily once more. This time he did dream of Sirius.

_He found himself in an almost empty room, large enough that he could not see the outer edges in the dim firelight. Sirius was sitting in a chair in front of the fire, an aggravated expression on his face as he beckoned Harry to the chair next to him._

_It was a rare chance to talk, and so they did. They discussed everything, from Sirius' death to Harry's future. Hitting on Harry's guilt over Sirius' death and the injuries to his friends, Sirius' recklessness, Harry's recklessness, his temper and tendency to let his emotions overrule his judgment. His 'saving people thing', as Hermione called it. _

_Eventually Sirius got through to Harry and convinced him that his friends knew what they were doing standing by him and that__ they would probably continue to do so, regardless of anything else. That, if he tried to push them away after all they had been through, it would not only prove to be an exercise in futility, but__ it__ would __also __cause great stress and hurt __feelings where they weren't needed. And finally, the fact that Sirius' death was in no way his fault and he__, Sirius, was happier now instead of as__ a __prisoner in Grimmauld Place._

_They both had a long list of grievances with Dumbledore. Harry's topped with his part in Sirius' death. Sirius' was __with the way Dumbledore had been treating Harry, pushing him off to the side with no information to keep him safe. Harry was not happy with this either, but it wasn't just Dumbledore, it was everyone. The stupid Prophecy put Harry smack in the middle of this war and nobody seemed to think he needed any information. They all continued to refuse to look past his age. Sirius smiled at that __but did not__ comment. What really surprised Sirius was Harry pointing out that nobody was even giving him any training to prepare him for his inevitable confrontation with Voldemort._

_This brought Harry to the dream he had had about the voices interfering in his life. They discussed all of his recent dreams and the troubling conclusion Harry made that maybe the adults in his life were no longer acting in his best interest. Sirius had suggested that hi__m__ turning his back on them to join his friends beyond the Veil meant just that: let the adults have their groups and secrets; pull together his friends-'The Ministry Six', Harry laughed at t__he__ phrase, - and his D. __A.,__ and make their own plans._

_Sirius smiled as he watched that idea take hold in Harry's mind, he could see it light the fire in his eyes. He was off, discussing the changes that he wanted and needed to make in his life and how to do it. They argued and joked, cried and laughed, grieved and planned. That night marked a turning point in Harry's life as he made that major choice, the ramifications of which were destined to surprise nearly everyone._

It had seemed too odd to be a dream. It had seemed that they talked for hours, and perhaps they had, for when he finally woke up, it was time for dinner. He actually felt really good after his talk with Sirius. He felt better about his godfather's loss, able to look back on his memory and smile. He knew that Sirius was happy now and that he was together with James. He would never tell anyone about this dream, knowing they would merely say it was just a part of his own mind and not to be taken seriously. But in his heart he knew it to be more than that. It was a gift for him, a chance for them to talk everything over, and a chance to say good-bye.

This night found Harry pacing the floor in the early morning hours, reflecting again on the trip to the Department of Mysteries. He stood at the end of Hermione's bed. She had tried to talk some sense into him, but he had refused to listen to her, letting his emotions overrule his judgment. His 'saving people thing', she had called it, and she was right, like always. The curse Dolohov had used on her, though less effective than it would have been had he been able to say the incantation aloud, had nevertheless caused, in Madam Pomfrey's words, " quite enough damage to be going on with." Hermione had to take ten different types of potions every day and although she was improving greatly she, like him, was tired of the Hospital Wing.

Across the room from her Ron was snoring loudly. He had also been hit with a spell; it had caused him to behave strangely and to summon a brain from a large tank, which had then attacked him. There were still deep welts on his forearms where the brain's tentacles had wrapped around him. According to Madam Pomfrey, thoughts could leave deeper scaring then almost anything else. Didn't Harry know it? Though since she had started applying copious amounts of Dr Ubbly's Oblivious Unction, there seemed to be some improvement.

Next to Ron, Neville was also snoring away. He had come along with them to rescue someone he didn't even know just to help Harry. He had broken his father's wand and his nose. Surprisingly, that did not stop him from continuing to fight the Death Eaters. He took a Cruciatus Curse that night and Harry knew personally the effects that had. Harry knew Neville had changed a lot this year but he had not noticed just how much. He, like the rest of them, had grown up. Harry was very impressed and very proud to call him a friend.

Ginny was in the bed across from Neville; a Reductor Curse had broken her ankle. Madam Pomfrey had fixed it in a trice. Harry stood at the foot of her bed. He was mesmerized. She looked like an angel. Her hair spread in waves across the pillow set aglow by the moonlight, her skin luminous, and her face serene in sleep. She was enchanting. He was still unable to figure out where he had been when the girls had gone and gotten gorgeous, and how come he hadn't noticed. He pulled himself away, shaking his head slightly; she was Ron's sister, and she was his friend.

Truth be told, she was not even a close friend. At least she hadn't been. Neither had Neville or Luna, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione had learned in their first year that there are some things that you can't go through and not become good friends. Knocking out a mountain troll was probably right up there with breaking into the Ministry of Magic and battling Death Eaters. He had the feeling they would all emerge closer after this.

Luna was in the bed next to Ginny and making a funny snuffling noise as she slept. It was so Luna. She behaved so odd most of the time, but Harry found her strangely perceptive. He had thought maybe her whimsical take on the world allowed her to see things most people missed. But he now knew it was just an image she cultivated to protect others from the power she held. Like Harry, she had been relatively uninjured, and Dumbledore had said none of them would suffer any lasting damage, but Madam Pomfrey had insisted on keeping all six of them in the Hospital Wing until the end of term.

Harry had the bed across from Luna. Hedwig sat on the headboard watching him pace. She had glided in when they returned the first night and perched on his bed, sensing that her master needed her. She had refused to be removed, biting both Madam Pomfrey and Mrs. Weasley. She would not even leave to hunt. And when she dodged a spell shot by the matron Harry had found himself with his wand in his hand, insisting they leave her alone. So she watched over him, and he felt better having her there.

He was again turning over everything in his mind, debating everything he knew and all he had learned in the past week. He was lying awake on his bed when dawn broke and a group of house elves delivered their trunks. They were heading home today. He fetched some parchment and ink from his trunk. It was time to start making some plans.


	2. And So It Begins

DISCLAIMER- Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. I am forever in debt to J.K. Rowling for creating such a wonderful world to play in.

AN- Parts of this chapter are taken directly from The Order of the Phoenix by our lovely Ms Rowling.

Many thanks go to my beta Amber. Without her work this story would be a lot more incomprehensible.

Chapter 2- And So It Begins

Harry pulled his trunk towards the back of the train, Hedwig riding on his shoulder as she had refused to be caged. Harry wasn't sure what was going on with her, but now that he thought about it he had not seen her most of the year. She had been injured bringing him a note from Sirius and he had taken her to Professor Grubbly-Plank, but after she had recovered and gone back to the Owlery he couldn't remember seeing her again. That was at the beginning of the school year. Even over Christmas, what with all the fuss over Mr. Weasley being injured, Harry hadn't thought twice about the fact that Pigwidgeon had arrived with their school trunks and not Hedwig.

The six of them found a compartment to themselves amid much whispering and pointing from the rest of the students. Harry was used to it, he never seemed to make it a year without becoming a hot gossip topic. At least everyone now knew he had been telling the truth the whole time. He felt bad for Neville and Hermione, who seemed very embarrassed. Ron and Ginny seemed to take it in stride and Luna seemed oblivious.

Ron challenged Neville to a game of chess while Luna looked on with vague interest. Harry was watching Hermione with amusement**-** she had buried herself in a large book, but she was shooting a glance at him every ten minutes or so, which caused Hedwig to hoot annoyingly and snap her beak at her. Ginny was staring out the window but glanced between Hedwig and Hermione every time she snapped, which caused Hermione to hastily drop her eyes to her book only to do the same thing a few minutes later.

Harry was also debating telling the five of them the Prophecy. He had always planned on sharing it with Ron and Hermione eventually. They were his first and best friends after all, but he would rather do it after everything was over and done. It was Sirius who had told him that this was a burden he needed to share soon or it would eat him up from the inside out. He hated that fact so much more because it was the truth.

He already felt that Neville had a right to know. As close a call as it was for him to have ended up shouldering the burden of the Prophecy made Harry feel that it gave him the right to know. It was something they both should have been told years ago.

That left him to consider Ginny and Luna. He felt a strong bond with the both of them. It was something he couldn't explain. But it went deeper than friendship, odd because they had been bordering on mere acquaintances two weeks ago. Luna looked up at him then, making him think she knew he was thinking of her, and maybe she did. She gave him a small nod and a soft smile. Which just confused him more. Ginny at least continued to stare out the window. She had her own experiences with Voldemort, he recalled. She was probably the only other person here who knew just how truly evil he was. Maybe that gave her a certain right too.

After an hour Ron had beaten Neville three times, and Harry had decided to make a leap of faith. Besides, he couldn't in good conscience continue to build friendships that would put them all in greater danger without giving them a choice about it first.

Hedwig snapped at Hermione again and Harry burst out laughing, petting her feathers. "Hermione, is there something you wanted to ask me or are you just going to continue insulting my owl?" he chuckled.

"I just wanted to make sure you're alright," she said, glaring at Hedwig who glared right back and ruffled her feathers.

"I'm fine," he said with a smile. Ron and Ginny both rolled their eyes. "In fact, there is some stuff I wanted to talk to you all about," he said, as he secured the compartment so they would not be overheard.

Despite being afraid of their reactions he repeated his conversation with Dumbledore about the Prophecy. Whatever they were expecting, it was certainly not that. They all sat in stunned silence for a minute.

Harry looked around the compartment. Ron looked horrified, his mouth opened and closed soundlessly as he tried to get his head around the fact that his best mate was the only one who could kill the most feared wizard of the age.

Neville was frozen in shock and Harry knew that he had realized how close a call it was that it could have been him. Neville swallowed hard and shook himself slightly. Then Harry saw his eyes harden with a steely look similar to that which Harry had seen in his dream. His voice carried a slightly scary tone as he vowed he would do anything he could to help.

Luna just smiled at him again and he got the feeling that she was not really surprised. In an oddly normal voice she told him she would do whatever she could to help him too. Her characteristic comments were conspicuous only in their absence.

Hermione was looking at him in shock and pain. He smiled at her. "You're looking at me as if I'm already dead," he said, trying to lighten the mood. She flushed then paled. Then he saw a look appear on her face that he had never seen. She was beyond determined.

"No," she said in a frighteningly cold voice. "You are going to win that fight. I will see to it if it's the last thing I ever do." Harry swallowed hard. He believed her; she would see to it he was prepared.

He looked over at Ginny and was surprised to see her face was very red and Harry couldn't figure out what she thought until she flipped out. She was furious. Fortunately, it wasn't him who she was furious at. She paced the three steps in the compartment back and forth as she raged, Fate ("Hasn't he had enough to deal with already?") and Albus Dumbledore ("You knew about this the whole time and never said anything!") being her prime targets. The door and windows began to rattle as her unrestrained magic rose.

Ron apparently was familiar with this and moved as far into the corner as he could. Harry took one look at her face and found he did not wish to be in Dumbledore's shoes the next time Ginny caught up with him. He felt certain it would not go well for the old wizard. But he had a strangely warm sensation in his chest that she cared so much about him.

She gave a yell of frustration and the glass in the door shattered into hundreds of tiny glass projectiles, blowing straight out into Malfoy's face, as he stood outside their compartment trying to get the door open. He covered his face with a yell and took off blindly down the corridor.

Ginny sat down calmly and told him she was going to do whatever it took to help him. Harry stared at her. How she went from raging wandless magic to perfectly calm and composed, he had no idea. "Er… Ginny are you okay?"

"No, and Merlin help Albus Dumbledore the next time he crosses my path!" she said darkly. "But that is for later. We have other things to discuss now."

Harry looked around: Ron was climbing out of his corner, Hermione was repairing the shattered window, and Luna looked as if she was waiting for him to go on to the next topic. Apparently, this was a facet of Ginny's personality that he had never seen. At least Neville looked as confused as he did.

He moved on anyway and told them that now that they knew what was coming for him, if they wanted to stay away from him so they would be safer he would not hold it against them. The looks he got just confirmed his choice in choosing his friends over the Order. They all pledged to help him in any way they could and insisted that they would stand with him even to the end.

He then gave them a brief overview of what his dreams had shown him-the realization that he was going to be smack in the middle of this war and nobody felt the need to include him in the planning, and the idea (not mentioning that it was Sirius') that if Dumbledore and everyone else was ignoring them they could use that to their advantage and prepare for the upcoming war on their own.

Ron and Ginny leapt in with both feet, offering to spy on the Order, as usual, and see what they could find out, as well as to try to get Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to have Neville and Luna over this summer along with Harry and Hermione.

Neville and Luna again promised to help in any way they could.

Harry had expected Hermione to be hesitant. Her natural inclination was to seek out figures in authority; she even trusted Snape just on Dumbledore's word. But she was serious in her promise to make sure he was ready, and the idea of spending what would be hours this summer buried in books, while tedious to him, lit a glow in her eyes.

"Hopefully Ron and Ginny can convince their parents to have all four of us over. We are going to need to spend some time together this summer. We have a lot to discuss and work on," Hermione said, already making mental lists.

"So it begins," Harry said, extending his hand to Neville, who shook it gladly. Ginny placed her hand on top of their clasped hands with a grin and Ron joined them, then Hermione, muttering about the Musketeers, and finally Luna, who smiled and placed her hand, causing them all to pull back at the static shock.

They continued planning and working out details and assignments to get done before they were due to meet up. It would be sometime around Harry's birthday if the past years were any guide. Hermione broke down and pulled out parchment and ink, making lists for each person and charming the parchment so that nobody else could read it. It would not be good if anyone found out what they were planning - at this stage, it could ruin everything.

Harry was frustrated at his inability to contribute much. His isolation on Privet Drive and his relatives' unwillingness to assist him in anything made his part rather small till they could meet up again.

Surprisingly, it was Neville who had the biggest part in the planning stages. Longbottom Manor was in London, and Neville was not under the watchful eye of Molly Weasley and the Order of the Phoenix, and so he had the easiest access to Diagon Alley to purchase the needed supplies. Harry gave him his vault key and a letter allowing him to withdraw whatever money they needed.

As the train pulled into London, Harry and his friends exited the train and Harry looked at Hedwig. "You know Uncle Vernon will not let you in the car outside of your cage. Are you going to get in or just meet me on Privet Drive?" She nudged the door of her cage and climbed in when Harry opened it. She apparently had no intention of leaving him, and he was thankful that she would be with him for the ride.

When the ticket inspector signaled to them that it was safe to walk through the magical barrier between platforms nine and ten, however, he found a surprise awaiting him on the other side: a group of people standing there to greet him whom he had not expected at all.

There was Mad-Eye Moody, looking quite as sinister with his bowler hat pulled low over his magical eye as he would have done without it, his gnarled hands clutching a long staff, his body wrapped in a voluminous traveling cloak. Tonks stood just behind him, her bright bubble-gum-pink hair gleaming in the sunlight filtering through the dirty glass station ceiling, wearing heavily patched jeans and a bright purple T-shirt bearing the legend THE WEIRD SISTERS. Next to Tonks was Lupin, his face pale, his hair graying, a long threadbare overcoat covering a shabby jumper and trousers. At the front of the group stood Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, dressed in their Muggle best, and Fred and George, who were both wearing brand new jackets in some lurid green, scaly material.

"Ron, Ginny!" Called Mrs. Weasley, hurrying forward and hugging her children tightly. "Oh, and Harry dear- how are you?"

"Fine," lied Harry, as she pulled him into a tight embrace. Over her shoulder he saw Ron goggling at the twins' new clothes.

"What are they supposed to be?" he asked, pointing at the jackets.

"Finest dragon skin, little bro," said Fred, giving his zip a little tweak. "Business is booming and we thought we'd treat ourselves."

"Hello Harry," said Lupin, as Mrs. Weasley let go of Harry and turned to greet Hermione.

"Hi," said Harry. "I didn't expect…what are you all doing here?"

"Well," said Lupin with a slight smile, "we thought we might have a little chat with your aunt and uncle before letting them take you home."

"I dunno if that's a good idea," said Harry at once.

"Oh, I think it is," growled Moody, who had limped a little closer. "That'll be them, will it, Potter?"

He pointed with his thumb over his shoulder; his magical eye was evidently peering through the back of his head and his bowler hat. Harry leaned an inch or so to the left to see where Mad-Eye was pointing and there, sure enough, were the three Dursleys, who looked positively appalled to see Harry's reception committee.

"Ah, Harry!" said Mr. Weasley, turning from Hermione's parents, whom he had been greeting enthusiastically, and who were taking it in turns to hug Hermione. "Well- shall we do it, then?"

"Yeah, I reckon so, Arthur," said Moody.

He and Mr. Weasley took the lead across the station toward the place where the Dursleys stood, apparently rooted to the floor. Hermione disengaged herself gently from her mother to join the group.

"Good afternoon," said Mr. Weasley pleasantly to Uncle Vernon, coming to a halt right in front of him. "You might remember me, my name's Arthur Weasley."

As Mr. Weasley had single**-**handedly demolished most of the Dursleys' living room two years previously, Harry would have been very surprised if Uncle Vernon had forgotten him. Sure enough, Uncle Vernon turned a deeper shade of puce and glared at Mr. Weasley, but chose not to say anything, partly, perhaps, because the Dursleys were outnumbered two to one. Aunt Petunia looked both frightened and embarrassed. She kept glancing around, as though terrified somebody she knew would see her in such company. Dudley, meanwhile, seemed to be trying to look small and insignificant, a feat at which he was failing extravagantly.

"We thought we'd just have a few words with you about Harry," said Mr. Weasley, still smiling.

"Yeah," growled Moody. "About how he's treated when he's at your place."

Uncle Vernon's mustache seemed to bristle with indignation. Possibly because the bowler hat gave him the entirely mistaken impression that he was dealing with a kindred spirit, he addressed himself to Moody.

"I am not aware it is any of your business what goes on in my house-"

"I expect what you're not aware of would fill several books, Dursley," growled Moody.

"Anyway, that's not the point," interjected Tonks, whose pink hair seemed to offend Aunt Petunia more than all the rest put together, for she closed her eyes rather than look at her, "The point is, if we find out you've been horrible to Harry-"

"- and make no mistake, we'll hear about it," added Lupin pleasantly.

"Yes," said Mr. Weasley, "even if you won't let Harry use the fellytone-"

"_Telephone,_" whispered Hermione.

"Yeah, if we get any hint that Potter's been mistreated in any way, you'll have us to answer to," said Moody.

Uncle Vernon swelled ominously. His sense of outrage seemed to outweigh even his fear of this bunch of oddballs.

"Are you threatening me, sir?" he said, so loudly that passersby actually turned to stare.

"Yes, I am," said Mad-Eye, who seemed rather pleased that Uncle Vernon had grasped this fact so quickly.

"And do I look like the kind of man that can be intimidated?" barked Uncle Vernon.

"Well…" said Moody, pushing back his bowler hat to reveal his sinisterly revolving magical eye. Uncle Vernon leapt backward in horror and collided painfully with a luggage trolley. "Yes, I'd have to say you do, Dursley."

He turned away from Uncle Vernon to survey Harry. "So, Potter… give us a shout if you need us. If we don't hear from you for three days in a row, we'll send someone along…."

Aunt Petunia whimpered piteously. It could not have been plainer that she was thinking of what the neighbors would say if they caught sight of these people marching up the garden path.

"'Bye then, Potter," said Moody, grasping Harry's shoulder for a moment with a gnarled hand.

"Take care, Harry," said Lupin quietly. "Keep in touch."

"Harry, we'll have you away from there as soon as we can," Mrs. Weasley whispered, hugging him again.

"We'll see you soon, mate," said Ron anxiously, shaking Harry's hand.

"Really soon, Harry," said Hermione earnestly. "We promise."

Harry just raised a hand in farewell, turned around, and led the way out of the station toward the sunlit street, with Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley hurrying along in his wake.


	3. Doing Time On Privet Drive

DISCLAIMER- Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize. I am forever in debt to J.K. Rowling for creating such a wonderful world to play in.

AN- Parts of this chapter are taken directly from The Half-Blood Prince by our lovely Ms Rowling.

Many thanks go to my beta Amber. Without her work this story would be a lot more incomprehensible.

Chapter 3-Doing Time on Privet Drive

Uncle Vernon was just as dreadful on the ride home as Harry had expected him to be, he reflected, as he lay in bed that evening, probably worse. He was also slightly annoyed that they thought he couldn't handle his relatives. He had been doing this for 15 years.

His slight lingering depression over Sirius was drowned out by remembering the lists Hermione had given them. It really was like a giant prank on the Order. He couldn't wait till he saw his friends again. The hope that everyone would be able to complete their lists and the thought that now he was moving forward in his fight against Voldemort was the last thing he remembered before he drifted off to sleep.

_He was on a hill near the Burrow. He had been here before, just not in his dreams. Ginny was laying in the shade of the big weeping willow tree. She looked up when she heard his footsteps and jumped to her feet. "Luna Katherine Lovegood, this is NOT what he meant!"_

_Harry started at her abrupt yell and turned to find Ron doubled over laughing beside Neville who was looking confused._

"_What is going on?" Harry asked._

_Ron worked to compose himself while Ginny glared at him. "We have joined Ginny in her dream." He said, as if it was perfectly normal. Luna appeared on the hill and Ginny stormed off toward her._

"_Luna used to do this when we were younger and didn't have time to finish talking," he explained. "I don't know if it is a spell or an ability of hers. I have never thought about it. I'm sure Hermione could tell us." He looked around. "She must not be asleep yet. She did it on the train ride. That was the shock. I just didn't realize it."_

_Hermione appeared on the hill looking surprised. Ginny and Luna joined her and the three girls made their way down. Ginny still looked angry, but Luna just wore a small smile._

"_What's going on?" asked Hermione._

"_Luna has an ability or a spell that allows people to share their dreams." Ron explained._

"_That's impossible!"_

_Ron stifled a laugh. "See I told you she would know. Actually it is not impossible, look around."_

_Everyone looked at Luna. "Harry said we should get together to talk this summer this seemed the easiest way." She said, calmly._

"_How long will this last?" Harry asked._

"_We will stay here until we wake up in the morning." Ron explained._

"_And we will return to a shared dream every night until she stops it." Ginny added. "We have dream-shared for up to a month."_

"_Really?" Ron asked._

_Harry smiled. This summer was already looking better than any previously. He would not be cut off from everyone this year. Here they could talk without fear of being overheard. _

_Hermione just continued to sputter about this being impossible._

Harry woke the next morning with a smile on his face, a rare occurrence on Privet Drive. They had all agreed to keep the dream-sharing ability working until they were together again. Apparently the first one asleep would determine the setting for the night. The rest joined in as they fell asleep. He just had to make sure he was never the first one asleep he did not want them trapped in some of his nightmares.

With his nights spent planning with his friends Harry spent his days doing the chores the Dursleys gave him without much complaint. They were a least feeding him more than normal, and making sure that he sent a letter to the Order every three days. Other than giving him his list of daily chores they ignored him for the most part. Maybe the warning from the Order had helped.

In the evenings Harry found himself going through his books. He looked through his old school books as well as the few others he had been given and wishing he had thought to buy more advanced material.

That afternoon Harry received a letter from Gringotts informing him that the goblins knew that Sirius had been killed and that he was to report to the office of Wills and Estates at noon 15 July for the will reading of Sirius Black.

Since Hedwig was more reliable than either Errol or Pig Harry's main goal for the summer was to get in touch with members of the DA and see who would be willing to help him out with his plans for the summer and who would be interested in continuing the DA next year at Hogwarts.

He figured he would start with the younger members and work his way up. So far the few people he had sent letters to were more than willing to rejoin the DA once the school year started. Dennis and Colin Creevey sounded overexcited to hear from him.

He was looking forward to speaking to the twins personally. He had heard that Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley had not let them into the Order despite them meeting the requirements and he wanted to see if he could convince them to help him out instead.

According to Ron and Ginny some of their joke shop stuff was brilliant. Harry suspected they were very smart but only worked on things that held their interest. School obviously not being on that list.

The fact that they were of age and out on their own with a business in Diagon Alley couldn't hurt. Through them he would also have access to some of the older members of the DA. Fred was dating Alicia Spinet, and he was sure she was in contact with Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell at the very least.

_His five friends were sitting at a table in the Hogwarts library when Harry arrived. Hermione as usual had several books and piles of parchment surrounding her. Apparently she had fallen asleep first, as there was another Hermione at the other end of the table studying. This was the weirdest thing about the dream sharing, the dream continued on, making it odd to see yourself doing other things. The first night in Ginny's dream only she knew that she was also sitting on a high branch of the tree writing in her diary._

"_Hermione I don't think we are supposed to know the Portkey spell it is restricted by the Ministry," said Neville. "They only teach it to high level employees. You can't just find it in a book."_

_Ron snorted and everyone looked at him. He smirked at Ginny. "Yeah it not in a book is it?" he asked. Ginny blushed and looked down. Hermione's head swiveled back and forth between the siblings. Finally Ron cracked. "It is not in a book it is actually in small pamphlet. Ginny has one." Hermione, Harry, and Neville turned to her in shock. She blushed a darker red and seemed to find her shoes the most fascinating thing in the world at the moment._

"_How did you get one?" Neville asked._

_Ron answered. "It was dad's. He used to bring us into the office when we were younger and Ginny kind of liberated it."_

"_Wait, why did your dad have one?"_

_"All department heads get one, and though he may have a small department he is the head. I don't think he even noticed it was gone. It was on the floor between the desk and the wall and I like the pictures so I took it with me it wasn't until I could read what it said that I realized what it was."_

"_Where is it?"_

"_It's hidden in the attic at the Burrow. I can ask Bill to get it in the morning."_

"_Hold on, we don't want anyone to know what we are doing." Harry interjected._

"_It's okay he won't even know it's there," she replied. "It is hidden in a stack of my old dairies. I'll just ask him to get them for me."_

"_Do you think we can learn the Portkey Spell isn't it difficult to do? Neville asked._

"_I'll send the dairy to Hermione if she can't learn it none of us can," Ginny said. _

_Hermione's cheeks tuned faint pink. "I will look at it." She said._

Four days after Harry had returned home he received an early morning owl from Flourish and Blots with his credit account information and catalog listing of in stock books. He smiled to himself. Neville really was quite brilliant he thought as he sent Hedwig with a small order of books on advanced defense and charms.

It was a good thing he was in a reasonably good mood when the Daily Prophet arrived with a front-page article about him.

HARRY POTTER: THE CHOSEN ONE?

Rumors continue to fly about the mysterious recent disturbance at the Ministry of Magic, during which He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was sighted once more.

"We're not allowed to talk about it, don't ask me anything." said one agitated Obliviator, who refused to give his name as he left the Ministry last night.

Nevertheless, highly placed sources within the Ministry have confirmed that the disturbance centered on the fabled Hall of Prophecy.

Though Ministry spokeswizards have hitherto refused even to confirm the existence of such a place, a growing number of the Wizarding community believe that the Death Eaters now serving sentence in Azkaban for trespass and attempted theft were attempting to steal a prophecy. The nature of the prophecy is unknown, although speculation is rife that it concerns Harry Potter, the only person ever known to have survived the Killing Curse, and who is also known to have been at the Ministry on the night in question. Some are going so far as to call Potter "the Chosen One," believing that the prophecy names him as the only one who will be able to rid us of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

The current whereabouts of the prophecy, if it exists, are unknown, although (ctd. Page2, column 5)

Harry threw the paper down in disgust, and consoled himself that at least it was the truth for once. Not that they had any clue whether it was the truth or not before they printed it. Besides it was rather favorable towards him. Which after the last few years made for a pleasant change.

_Hermione was going to teach them the basics of the Portkey Spell tonight. The setting was appropriately a classroom, where the five of them sat before Hermione who stood at the front of the room and another Luna snuck around searching for who knows what._

_"Harry did you see the Prophet this morning?" Hermione asked._

_"Yeah, at least they printed the truth this time."_

_"Harry, what are we going to do? We can't be letting this information getting to the Death Eaters."_

_"Hermione, the Death Eaters already know they were there trying to steal it. We just can't let them know that we know what it said."_

_"Perhaps we should all learn Occlumency?" she mused, already planning on getting some books about it._

_Harry thought that was probably a good idea, the better for them to hide all their secrets from prying headmasters, not to mention greasy potion masters. Snape had told him that he had no talent for it, but it was Snape talking. Besides Harry was starting to think that Ron was right and Snape did not instruct him properly. But they had to get back to Portkeys tonight._

_Hermione looked perfectly at ease in front of the classroom. Harry could easily picture her a professor._

_"According to the pamphlet you can use anything as the keyword for a Portkey." Hermione explained. "Everyone uses a countdown from three or the word 'Activate' but you can use anything. Without the keyword if someone gets hold of the Portkey they can't trace the destination. That is why everyone uses the same thing it makes it easy for the Ministry to trace it. It's a bureaucratic trick. The way it is written you would never think of using any other keywords."_

_By the end of the night Hermione had explained Portkeys thoroughly and all six were familiar with the basics. Whether they would be able to perform the spells would have to wait, but Harry was confident that Hermione could instruct them all properly._

As time went by and Harry had more and more plans come together. All the lists were getting completed. He felt renewed in his choice of friends. He felt his friends had helped him accomplish more in the last two weeks than Dumbledore had helped him in the past five years.

He was surprised at how close he was getting to his friends. He had been nigh inseparable from Ron since their first train ride to Hogwarts, and Hermione had joined them on their first Halloween following the troll incident. Now as Harry had suspected after the incident at the Ministry the six of them were getting closer. You couldn't really get much closer than sharing dreams.

They spent a lot of time talking out of hearing of any of the adults in their lives. Harry had decided to bring everyone up to speed on what was happening. Hermione had suggested they start from the beginning.

So Harry had explained exactly what happened first year. The mystery surrounding the stone, and the trials they had to get though to save it from Voldemort.

Then Ginny had told them all about the diary. Harry felt badly that she was so lonely her first year and that made her easy prey for the diary. Harry then told them all what happened in the Chamber that night. Including the sixteen-year-old memory and how Tom Riddle was Voldemort's real name.

Then Ron had taken them through third year and the meeting with Pettigrew and Sirius. How Sirius was framed and Wormtail was living with the Weasleys all those years, Hermione explained the time turner and told them how she and Harry had gone back and saved Buckbeak and Sirius.

Then Harry again took over the story and told them of the Triwizard Tournament. How Barty Crouch was disguised as Mad-Eye Moody and put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire under the name of a fourth school. Then turned the cup into a Portkey and about the rebirthing ritual and Cedric's murder.

Finally they discussed what happened the night in the Department of Mysteries, and its aftermath. His dreams and what he thought they meant, and the future of the war.

It took several nights and Harry was drained emotionally after discussing such traumatic things. But he felt better now that they were all on the same page.

As far as Harry's other assignment was going. Everyone he talked to was willing to help out, and the DA looked to be as full next year as it was this year.

Even Ron had ordered books to read over the summer. Harry felt that was a true miracle. He wondered if Ginny had told Hermione. Ron certainly hadn't mentioned it.

Every few days owls turned up with catalogs from various stores on Diagon Alley. Neville admitted that he was not really sure what they would need so he opened accounts for them all from several places. Harry was looking through the various catalogs one evening when some charmed jewelry caught his eye.

He searched though his rapidly growing pile to find one for a jewelry store. He had an idea that he and his friends should have some sort of symbol of their friendship and closeness. If it could be charmed for their protection than that was even better. Maybe they could make them into 'phrase activated Portkeys' that would sent them to safety if they were in trouble.


	4. Opening The Wounds

DISCLAIMER- I own nothing you recognize. I am forever in debt to J.K. Rowling for creating such a wonderful world to play in.

AN- Many thanks go to my beta Amber. Without her work this story would be a lot more incomprehensible.

Chapter 4- Opening the Wounds

The six friends were sitting around the fire in the Gryffindor common room chatting. Beside them, Ron and Harry were playing chess and Harry was actually winning.

"_This is a nightmare." Ron chuckled, right before Harry was pulled into an actual nightmare. He watched as Voldemort sat before kneeling masked Death Eaters. Suddenly, Harry noticed he was not alone: the six of them had all entered the vision._

"_Now that we are together again, what do you all have to say for yourselves? Why were you were unable to handle six children? Six children you had outnumbered. You let Potter destroy the Prophecy. You forced me to waste my time getting you out of Azkaban. You should know better than to fail me. Crucio." One of the Death Eaters writhed before him, screaming in pain. _

Harry's scar burned briefly. Ron, Hermione and Luna gasped in pain. Neville was holding his head as though trying to squeeze the pain out. Ginny was ghostly pale and gritting her teeth, her eyes firmly closed.

"_Crucio." Another fell to the floor, screaming loudly, until Voldemort lifted the curse. "You will all have a second chance, however, as I'm feeling generous." _

_Harry tried to focus his blurred vision._

"_We cannot get to Potter as I would like to, but we can get at his friends. Take four groups and bring me Ronald and Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, Hermione Granger, and Luna Lovegood." The Death Eaters scrambled up, forming four groups. "Bella, oversee the mission. Make sure you don't fail me again."_

"_Yes, master, I will succeed."_

"_You are aware of the price you will pay if you don't? Crucio!"_

Harry awoke full of fear for his friends and with increased hatred for Voldemort. Not only had he freed his Death Eaters that were caught at the Ministry, he was ready to capture Harry's friends as well.

The first thing he did was to write to Dumbledore and the Order informing them that he had had a vision, and warning them that Voldemort was going to target Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Neville, and Luna.

Harry worried all day about his friends. When night fell he was having trouble - he wanted to go to sleep and make sure his friends were all right. However, he didn't want to be the first one asleep.

_He was the first one asleep anyway. He paced in his room just as he would have done when he was awake. Hermione was the next one asleep. He ran to hug her and she laughed. "I'm fine, Harry."_

"_Is everyone okay? Your parents are all right? Have you heard from anyone else?" he asked anxiously._

"_My parents are fine. Thank you for asking. They were surprised when the Order members told them what was going on. I have been giving them highly censored versions of my school adventures and the unrest currently happening in the Wizarding world. They are a little mad at me." _

"_So what happened?"_

"_No idea. The Order moved us to a safe house before the Death Eaters got there. Even though the Order knew they were coming, all six Death Eaters escaped before they could catch them. They told Mum and Dad that they didn't even mange to do any damage to my house."_

_Ginny was the next one asleep. "Harry, they caught Wormtail!" Ginny exclaimed excitedly._

"_What? Are you sure?"_

"_Yes, I saw him. And they caught Macnair as well. They were on the landing outside my door."_

"_What do you mean they were outside your door?" he asked. "You were home when they attacked?"_

_She flushed. "Er… well, yeah."_

_Ron showed up next._

_Harry turned to him right away. "Were you home when the Death Eaters attacked?"_

_Ron turned to Ginny with an accusatory look on his face. She blushed. "I kind of got overexcited about the fact that they captured Wormtail and I forgot that we weren't supposed to tell him that we were the bait for the trap."_

"_You were bait!"_

_Neville appeared next._

_Harry turned on him right away. "Did they use you as bait as well?"_

"_No, they wanted to but Gran wouldn't allow it," Neville said defensively._

"_Well that was good of her," Harry mumbled, an apologetic look on his face._

" _Gran had sealed the house and we were at Spark before the Order could blink. Once sealed, Longbottom Manor is pretty impenetrable; neither the Death Eaters nor the Order got near it."_

"_Spark?"_

"_Oh, it's a secret safe house Gran set up when she was given custody of me. Afraid the Death Eaters would return for me, she used a large chunk of money to set up Spark." He pulled up his trouser leg and showed them a black and white cord tied around his ankle. "I'm not allowed to remove this. It's a Portkey and will bring me directly to Spark; I haven't used it in years."_

"_Why didn't you use it that night in the Department of Mysteries?" Harry asked._

_Neville just leveled a glare at him. "I hardly think it was necessary."_

"_They put you under the Cruciatus Curse!"_

_Neville just shrugged, and Ron and Hermione stared at him as if they had never seen him before._

"_Well, at least you were safe yesterday."_

"_Well Gran may respect Dumbledore's opinion, but not enough to put me in danger. I think she thought I couldn't handle it. I haven't told her much about the night in the Department of Mysteries."_

"_This whole thing was Dumbledore's idea?"_

"_Er, oops."_

_Harry turned to Ron and Ginny. "I can't believe that your mother would agree to something like this."_

"_She trusts Dumbledore, sometimes to a fault," Ginny explained. "He came up with the plan and promised her that we would in no way be in danger."_

"_Well you were. If the Death Eaters got that far into the house, you were in danger."_

"_It didn't go exactly as planned."_

"_Is that supposed to make me feel better?" he asked dryly._

"_Hey, we caught a couple of Death Eaters._

_Harry was livid. "I don't care if you caught Voldemort himself! They had no right to put you guys in danger like that."_

_Luna appeared last. She looked dreadful, with red-rimmed eyes and she was still sniffling. _

"_Luna, are you okay?" Harry asked, concerned._

"_I'm fine, but my father was hurt. He is in St Mungo's and they don't know if he will survive."_

_Ginny and Hermione rushed over to comfort her._

Harry felt another rush of anger. What made Dumbledore think that he had the right to use his friends as bait? They could have been killed. Ginny was too close to roaming Death Eaters for Harry's taste, and Luna's father was seriously hurt. Obviously, the protective measures they had in place were not sufficient.

Harry was just about as angry as he ever had been. It was good that they captured some of the Death Eaters of course, as they were supposed to be in Azkaban in the first place. Voldemort had let them out.

But the fear for his friends was Harry's greatest stumbling block. And he couldn't believe that Mrs. Weasley had trusted Dumbledore enough to put her children in danger like that. She was, if anything, overprotective. He wondered what Dumbledore had said to convince her.

That night, Harry and his friends were pulled into another vision.

"_Bella, Bella, Bella, you disappoint me. You know how I hate it when my Death Eaters disappoint me." Voldemort looked down and fingered his wand fondly._

_Bellatrix Lestrange shook slightly, though it was unclear whether it was from fear or anticipation. "It was a trap my Lord. They somehow knew we were coming."_

"_Yes and they captured Wormtail and Macnair. Wormtail's capture will cause problems. He must be freed at the earliest opportunity. As for Macnair, he is another disappointment to me. Take him or leave him; it is up to you."_

"_Yes my Lord, it shall be done," she said reverently as her shaking increased._

"_Do not fail me again or you will be starting to outlive your usefulness. And now you know what comes next, don't you?"_

"Yes, my Lord, I will not fail you again."

"_See that you don't." He pulled out his wand. "Crucio."_

Two days later the story Harry was waiting for appeared in the Daily Prophet.

PETER PETTIGREW CAPTURED WITH KNOWN DEATH EATER, SIRIUS BLACK EXONERATED

Thought to be long dead these many years, Peter Pettigrew was captured the day before yesterday in the company of known Death Eater Walden Macnair. Macnair was captured the night of the disturbance in the Department of Mysteries, the night that You-Know-Who himself was seen at the Ministry of Magic.

Questioned by Aurors, it has come to light that Mr. Pettigrew faked his own death all those years ago in order to frame longtime friend Sirius Black, who had been charged with Pettigrew's murder. Pettigrew himself was the one who killed the twelve Muggles that night in November in order to create a distraction that allowed him to make his escape.

Mr. Black spent twelve years in Azkaban for the murders of Mr. Pettigrew and the twelve innocent Muggles. He broke out three years ago. However, with this new evidence the Wizengamot has overturned his previous sentence and declared him innocent and wrongfully imprisoned. Mr. Black's current whereabouts are unknown.

How Peter Pettigrew escaped notice for sixteen years and how Walden Macnair escaped from holding in Azkaban is also unknown. The Ministry has declined comment.

That afternoon, Harry received a note from Dumbledore that his required time at Privet Drive was over. That he should be packed for the upcoming school year and Dumbledore would personally pick Harry up and take him to the will reading.

While Harry was relieved that his time at Privet Drive was over and he would soon be with his friends, he was surprised at the time. He hadn't even been there a month. Not that he was complaining.

Harry had a feeling that Dumbledore was just using him as an excuse to sit in on Sirius' will reading. He was also a little concerned about seeing Dumbledore; he was quite livid with him for allowing his friends to be in danger for the chance to capture Death Eaters.

It was a tense meeting. Harry allowed the plans he had made with his friends to override some of his anger at Dumbledore, but he was gritting his teeth hard enough to feel it in his neck. He was afraid to do more than to mostly ignore the man.

He brought Harry to Gringotts where they were directed to a conference room. Inside sat two goblins. One introduced himself as Brakvak, the goblin in charge of the Black Family Estate; the other Harry thought he recognized. When he introduced himself as Griphook, Harry realized why he looked familiar. He was in charge of the Potter Family Estate. No wonder he escorted Harry the last two times he had been here.

As Harry had suspected, Dumbledore strolled in like he was supposed to be there. They all took seats around the table upon which there were several stacks of parchment and a Pensieve. It was much smaller than Dumbledore's and made of a dull black stone. It made a nice contrast to the silvery swirling memories.

Sirius' image rose up from the Pensieve and at first he looked odd, solemn and sad. It was an expression Harry was not used to seeing on his face. It reminded him of the night Mr. Weasley had been attacked. He stated he was leaving all his money to Remus, much to Remus' obvious dismay; probably because there was nothing he could do but take it.

The image flickered and butterflies suddenly erupted in Harry's stomach as the image of Sirius suddenly got a particularly devious smile that Harry was more familiar with, the one that meant trouble for someone in the near future. "If you're watching this part of my will, then that means my name has been cleared. Which no matter how it happened now means that I get to pull the ultimate prank on Albus Dumbledore."

Dumbledore looked surprised, but it was Remus' mouth that dropped open. "No," he whispered, eyes wide. "He wouldn't."

"Back during the first war James and Lily made out a will naming me as Harry's legal guardian. When my name was cleared his official guardianship reverted to me, so now the fun." Remus was shaking his head as if he could somehow change the recording. "As Harry Potter's legal guardian I declare that if at the time of my death he has not reached the age of majority, that no one shall be appointed to replace me. I direct instead that my ward, Harry James Potter, be emancipated as per wizarding law."

Dumbledore paled as Remus dropped his head in his hands. "He did," he mumbled to the tabletop.

"Harry, this means that you are now an adult." Harry was reminded of his dream and Sirius smiling at Harry's complaints that everyone was treating him like a child. "Do me a favor, sit down with your friends and decide on the changes that need to be made. Number one on the list: get the hell away from the Dursleys. I'm leaving you Grimmauld Place so you have someplace to live. I think you should continue you let our friends use the house, but if they give you trouble, feel free to kick them out."

Dumbledore and Remus immediately went into a furiously whispered conversation.

Brakvak turned to Harry. "You need to sign some forms for your emancipation, as well as the deed and paperwork for Number 12 Grimmauld Place." He pushed a large stack of parchment toward Harry. After Harry had filled out the forms,Brakvak stamped them and handed them to Griphook. "Mr. Potter, now as an adult you come into your inheritance from the Potter Family as well." He pushed another large pile of parchment towards him. "As such, there are things that need your signature."

When Harry was done signing what seemed to be the endless stack of parchment, the numbers and names were causing his head to spin. Griphook handed him a small wooden box. Inside was a golden signet ring engraved with the Potter Family Crest, which by now he was very familiar with from all the paperwork. Harry placed the ring on his right index finger; it shrunk to fit his finger and glowed briefly as it confirmed him as the Potter heir. Harry felt a shift in his mind, and the ring turned invisible, as he became the head of the Potter line.

Then Griphook offered to see Harry to the Potter Family vault. There was no keyhole on this obviously high security vault. He told him the vault would open automatically for him now, and it did. He didn't spare much of a glance for all the gold in this vault,but he looked through the book that logged all of the other items in the vault, and with the newly implanted knowledge, removed and shrunk several items that he placed in his pockets.

They retuned to the conference room where Dumbledore and Remus had finished their discussion. Dumbledore turned to Harry. "We would like to bring you and your friends to Grimmauld Place for the rest of the summer. However, the building will be sealed, part from the inheritance laws and part from the protective wards. You're the owner. You have to go first Harry. You're the only one who can get in right now and you will have to allow the Order into the house."


	5. Magic?

DISCLAIMER- I own nothing you recognize. I am forever in debt to J.K. Rowling for creating such a wonderful world to play in.

AN- Many thanks go to my beta Amber. Without her work this story would be a lot more incomprehensible.

Chapter 5- Magic?

When Harry appeared, he fell to the ground. He just couldn't get used to landing by Portkey. He climbed the stairs to number twelve Grimmauld Place and stared at the door. He didn't have a key. How was he supposed to get in? Just then the door clicked, and swung open. Apparently the house knew its owner was here.

He shut the front door quietly behind him. He decided to do some exploring before the Order arrived. They had given him thirty minutes to restart the Floo connection. The place was as dark and gloomy as he remembered it.

He climbed the stairs to the room he and Ron shared first. The portrait on the wall was empty. He toured the rooms on the first floor, taking in the improvements presumably Sirius had made since the Christmas holidays. He moved to the kitchen in the basement, and it was dark and dusty. He had no worry that Mrs. Weasley would have them clean it up and would soon be producing wonderful meals for them all once again.

He checked out the garden that he had never known was even there. The deed and subsequent information on the house had made interesting reading. The garden was large and surprisingly beautiful considering what the house looked like.

He was on his way back in when he saw another door. Off the basement in the corner, barely visible, was the edge of a door. He never would have noticed it normally and was sure he had never seen it before. There was no doorknob, enabling it to blend in with the wall. Prying his fingers into the edge he opened it and followed the stairs it revealed down to a large cold room below the basement. Iron bars divided the room into six cells. He felt dizzy as he took in the shackles on the walls and the red tinge on the floors. He practically ran back upstairs to the kitchen and took a seat at the table before his breathing returned to normal. Without further delay, Harry reactivated the Floo connection and sat back down.

Harry had been right -Mrs. Weasley wasted no time commandeering the kitchen again as soon as she arrived. He and Neville had been put to work moving some boxes and trunks upstairs. He had not even had a chance yet to see the rest of his friends.

"Harry, can you get the girls for lunch? I think they said something about the garden," Mrs. Weasley asked when he returned to the kitchen.

How come everyone knew there is a garden here but me, he thought as he made his way out the side hall next to the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. As he stepped outside two facts became apparent; the first was that he had found the girls.

Hermione was sitting on the bench in the shade of the Weeping Willow reading. Small shafts of sunlight peaked through the leaves, putting touches of sparkle in her hair. She was wearing a denim skirt, a white sleeveless button down shirt that showed off her tan skin, and sandals with long straps that crisscrossed up her calves.

Ginny looked to be barefoot, standing in the pond looking down as she walked through the water. A pair of small sandals and a book sat on the bank near the stream. She was wearing a light green sundress that left her back bare and stopped well enough above her knees to make his mouth go dry. Her hair hung in a braid down her bare back.

Luna was on a wooden swing that someone had hung from one of the sturdy branches of a tree. She was twisting around until her shoes were barely touching the ground, then she would lift her feet and spin. She was dressed the most casual, wearing blue shorts and a small matching top that had lace lining the V-neck, thin straps, and was short enough that it left a inch of bare skin between the bottom of the shirt and the top of the shorts.

The second fact that became apparent was that he was going to be spending the rest of the summer with three of the most beautiful women he had ever laid eyes on. He was in BIG trouble.

And so he was. Harry had never been overly interested in girls. There was that one thing with Cho during last year, but to be honest, it was just a crush on his image of her. Once he got to know the real person, he realized what a mistake it was.

This time things were different. He had lived in the same house with Ginny for some time before his second year, and Hermione and Ginny the year before his fourth year and last summer as well. Maybe it was that he was young, or spent more time with Ron, but he never noticed the little details: like how pretty their hair looked, how long their legs were, and the delicious scents that seemed to follow them around.

He had been a close friend with Hermione through almost all his schooling and he had never learned the things about her that he had noticed in the past few days. How she smelled sweetly reminiscent of chocolate or candy; that she always used butter and marmalade on her toast; and that she wore the same pendant everyday.

Hermione had spent considerable time bossing him and Ron around during their younger school years. She was very motherly, nagging them to study harder, do their homework, and clean up after themselves. But as they grew older, it became more like a sibling relationship between him and Hermione - she continued to nag, but he just answered her with small smiles and tuned out her long lectures.

He had not been as close a friend with Ginny and Luna, but he was learning just as much about them. How Ginny liked her tea, and how her eyes lit up when talking about Quidditch, or how she smelled of strawberries.

Luna was followed by the scent of wildflowers, and Harry couldn't figure out how girls did that. Also that, strangely, Luna didn't drink tea, just hot water and lemon, that her invisible creatures were mentioned less often lately, and how clear and pale her skin was.

Ron, Harry, and Ginny were studying a few days later when Hermione came into the library carrying several boxes; Harry looked twice. They were Muggle board games. "Where did those come from?" he asked. Surely the Black family didn't have anything Muggle in the house.

"Mr. Weasley brought them over. He wanted to know what they were for," she explained. "I thought they would be a nice change of pace for the afternoon."

Ron placed his hand on her forehead. "You are going to put down your books and spend the afternoon playing games? You must be delirious," he said, with mock worry.

Harry laughed as Hermione had sequestered them in the library for the past two days, making up for all the nights of shared dreaming that she couldn't nag them to get their homework done. Without their OWLs they had no idea what classes they were going to be taking yet, so she had them studying general defense information. Harry was hopeful they would all pass that class at least.

"Shouldn't we wait for Neville and Luna?" Ginny asked.

Luna was not allowed out of Grimmauld Place to visit her father so she was with Neville and his Grandmother. How this was the same was beyond Harry, but if it made her feel better that she couldn't see her father, who was he to comment?

"They can play with us some other time," Hermione said. "We will keep the games here. Let's play this one first though; it is one of my favorites. It only takes two players, but we can make teams."

"How about brother-sister teams?" Harry suggested. "Ron and Ginny against us. I hope you don't mind but I think of you as my sister, Hermione," he said, with a slight blush.

Hermione's eyes turned glassy with tears. "I think of you as my brother too, Harry. I would be happy to be your teammate and your unofficial sister." She hugged him tightly.

Harry patted her back awkwardly; he didn't know she would get so emotional. They spent the afternoon playing all the games. Ron and Harry were both okay at them having never played board games before, except Wizard's Chess. Ginny was surprisingly good and so was Hermione.

Neville and Luna joined them after dinner so they rotated teams or played games for six players and they laughed well into the night. Harry made a mental note to try to do this more often, it was a great stress reliever.

The next weekend they played the board games again, with Harry and Ron steadily improving. When they had finished for the night before going off to bed, Ron leaned over and gave Ginny a quick kiss goodnight.

"Awww,how cute," Harry said. He knew the words were a mistake as soon as they left his mouth.

"Jealous, Potter? Would you like a kiss too?" Ginny challenged. "You can kiss your sister goodnight too." She said with a glance at a suddenly pale Hermione. Harry had taken a great deal of good-natured ribbing as Hermione's brother over the last few days.

Ron and Neville both laughed as he swallowed nervously. "That's okay, I'm good," he said, trying to end this line of conversation.

Neville laughed again. "Oh, come on. I'm sure she would like a goodnight kiss from her brother."

Harry could see there was no other way out of this. He took a deep breath and moved toward Hermione, who's expression was somewhere between nervous and amused. His hands were starting to sweat and he figured it was best to get this over with quickly. He closed his eyes and gave Hermione a quick kiss on the cheek. She gave him a relieved smile.

"Oh, that was lame. On the cheek," Ron said.

"You can do better?" asked Harry.

Ron turned bright red. "Er…"

"Yeah," Neville said. "Why don't you show us how well you can kiss Hermione?"

"On the lips," Harry chimed in.

Ron glared at him. "If I have to kiss your sister you have to kiss mine."

"What!" Ginny said.

"That's not fair," Harry objected. "I'm the one teasing you, why are you dragging Ginny into this?"

"Ginny doesn't mind. Do you?" Luna asked, earning a death glare from the redhead.

Neville and Luna both laughed. "You could even do it at the same time. Then you won't have to worry about being watched," Neville said, with a smile.

Luna laughed again. "Yeah. Ron, you and Hermione kiss and Harry and Ginny will kiss at the same time, and I'll kiss Neville."

Neville let out a squeak. "What?"

"Oh come on, join in the fun," she said.

The five of them looked around the room at each other, all of them with red faces and none of them willing to actually kiss or say anything about it. Luna got up first and sat beside Neville. She looked at the rest of them expectantly and Neville looked like he wanted to sink into the floor. Harry moved next, over toward Ginny, his hands were drenched and his heart was racing. He was trapped in another nightmare. Finally Ron joined Hermione at the table.

"I'll count down," Luna said.

"3…"

"2…"

"1…"

Lips touched, albeit briefly but in the right combination. The world paused, and a tidal wave of emotions and magic tore through the small room as it swept up its six occupants.

The first thing Harry noticed was the light. It was bright, too bright. He cracked his eyelids open a bit and peered around. He couldn't make out any features of wherever it was he was except the large brightly glowing globe about five feet away. He opened his eyes wider as he stared at the glowing ball. He walked towards it to examine it closer. At about a foot away he reached out his hand and was surprised when it made contact with something solid and the glowing light traveled up his arm and into his chest before flaring even more brightly, leaving him completely blind. "What was that?"

"That was magic," said a voice from behind him.

Startled, he spun around but was still unable to see. "Who are you and where am I?" he demanded, blinking rapidly. "Wait, that was magic? What's going on?"

"Please calm yourself, my friend. You are in no danger here. We should wait for your eyesight to return," said the voice.

Harry was never one to wait patiently but he managed it. Not that it helped him all that much, for it appeared to be a swirling column of light that stood next to him. "Who or what are you?"

"You do not recognize me, my friend, but perhaps in my other form?" it mused. before it shrunk down into a familiar snowy owl.

"Hedwig?" Harry whispered.

He felt a smile in his mind. He had no idea how he knew it was a smile or how he could feel one but he did, and he was pretty sure it had come from what appeared to be his owl. _"__Yes__,__ my Harry__,__ I see you do recognize me__,__" _said the voice. He realized he could hear it in his head now and not with his ears anymore.

"What is going on?" he asked again.

"You took an essential step. I approve of your choice. Your power will be almost unparalleled. It means that you were finally open enough to allow your magic to bring you here. You carry this place in you; it is the place your power resides. The large glowing ball was magic, your magic, and when you touched it you bonded with it. That has allowed this conversation to take place. I am your familiar, your guide, in this place and now in the other as well."

Molly Weasley was worried. She felt the wave of magic go through the house two days ago and found the six teenagers unconscious in the library. Madam Pomfrey had come by and diagnosed them all suffering from an expansion in their magical core.

Usually this happened gradually over time and had no outward effect. But it was not unheard of for a sudden growth in cores of teenagers. She just found it odd that all six of them shifted their magical cores and at the same time. It made her wonder exactly what they were doing that night. Unfortunately the only ones who knew for sure remained unconscious, and would stay that way, likely for the next week, till their larger cores had time to recharge.

Harry slowly swam up to consciousness. He was in his bed in the room he shared with Ron and Neville. "That was a weird dream," he muttered.

Neville was lying in his bed looking as his toad Trevor, who was perched on his chest. Ron was in his bed still asleep.

Neville looked over when Hedwig swooped down from the top of the wardrobe and landed on Harry's chest. "It wasn't a dream, Harry," Neville said.

"_Good morning__, __my Harry. Are you feeling better?"_ Hedwig asked.

Harry just lay there stunned. It had to have been a dream.

"Your friend is right, my Harry, it was not a dream. It was a gift that has not been bestowed to anyone in many years."

"Why now? Why me?" Harry exclaimed.

"It was not just you, my Harry. Your four friends and your mate joined you. This is a gift and the six of you were open enough to receive it."

"My four friends and my what?"

"Your mate. The one you will join with and your combined power will see all fall before you."

"What are you talking about? I don't have a mate."

"_Not yet, but you will. The one you know as Ginny will become your mate and…"_

"Hold it," he interrupted. He felt his face burning as he glanced to make sure Ron was still asleep. "I am not ma-mate-mating with Ginny."

He felt the smile in his head again_. "As you wish then. You will have to think of something to tell your adults though__;__ they have been waiting six days for you all to awaken."_

"We have been out of it for six days?"

"So Trevor told me," Neville said.

"What are we going to tell Mrs. Weasley and your Grandmother?

"I have no idea, but we better think of something quick. It's only a matter of time before they find out we're awake."

"Can you believe this whole thing? The magic bonding, the awaking powers, the mate thing."

"You too? Ginny is not my mate!"

I was talking about me and L-Luna."

"You and Luna? Really?"

"Well, I never thought about it, but she is very pretty and she is quite nice. If you notice, she only acts weird around people outside the six of us."

Harry had noticed actually; he noticed quite a bit about the girls. She had not said anything too outrageous since before the Department of Mysteries. All that time in the Hospital Wing and the nights of dream sharing, she had been quite normal.

He wondered if the girls were talking to their familiars and what they thought about the whole mating thing. Not that he would mind mating with someone - he was a normal sixteen-year-old boy. Besides, Ginny was a beautiful girl. She was smart, funny, and fun to be around. What! No! He was _not_ thinking this way about Ginny. Or Hermione or Luna for that matter.

If he was supposed to be paired with Ginny, and Neville was with Luna, he wondered if that left Ron and Hermione. He was not sure how he felt about that. They were his two best friends and now that he thought about it, they had been dancing around each other for years. If it made them happy,then who was he to object?

He had no idea what he was going to tell Mrs. Weasley, as he had no idea how or why it happened. He supposed that that was the best thing to say, that they didn't have any more clue what had happened than anyone else.

Pig, flying down to perch on Ron's chest, interrupted his thoughts. Harry and Neville waited. Ron sat staring at his owl for a moment before he looked frantically at Harry and Neville. They both just nodded their heads.

"It wasn't a dream?" he asked.

"No," they said.


	6. The Subconscious Reveals It All

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me; now a present for my readers, a new chapter Yippee!

DISCLAIMER- I own nothing you recognize. I am forever in debt to J.K. Rowling for creating such a wonderful world to play in.

AN- Many thanks go to my beta Amber. Without her work this story would be a lot more incomprehensible.

AN- Part of this chapter was taken from Reign O'er Me by cts if you have never read it I suggest you do it is awesome.

Chapter 6- The Subconscious Reveals It All

Harry and Neville had missed their birthdays, as they and their friends were unconscious, so Mrs. Weasley made them a cake the day after they woke up and they had a belated celebration, which Harry found embarrassing.

The Dursleys had never acknowledged his birthday so Harry had his own traditions, none of which included a party.

Neville was excited since he had never had friends over for his birthday before.

Mrs. Weasley spent the whole time hovering over the six of them as if convinced they were going to pass out again if she didn't watch them close enough.

The whole mating situation seemed to constantly be on Harry's mind over the next few days; it was making him uncomfortable.

They had told the adults that they had just been playing board games and didn't know what happened. Molly Weasley in particular looked extremely doubtful at this, but no one said anything.

Neville and Luna seemed to have taken the words of their familiars to heart and were officially dating.

Ron and Hermione were still in denial with each other but nevertheless were spending more and more time together talking.

And for his part, Harry was having coordination issues when in the same room with Ginny. He had to make a conscious effort to remain normal around her and not flee the room when she walked in.

Ginny was either not told because she was not in possession of her familiar or she was a wonderful actress. Harry was too afraid to ask. She remained the same as she was before, a caring friend and a generally beautiful person.

The first time Harry touched his wand after the magic bonding came as a surprise. His wand seemed to shiver in his hand and just like when he first touched it, it sprayed colored sparks from the tip. In the back of his mind awoke an awareness on a level he was unfamiliar with. He could hear the magic in his wand and the magic in his body singing. The music died down after a minute but never completely ended. He would hear the music of his magic in the back of his mind till the end of his days.

Ron was not in bed or at breakfast when Harry came down this morning. That struck Harry as odd; he didn't think Ron ever missed a meal. Ginny and Luna came down together.

"Do you know where Hermione is, Mum? She's not in our room."

"Professor McGonagall is talking to her and Ron about prefect business."

After Professor McGonagall had spoken to Ron and Hermione, she sought out Harry.

Harry didn't know why, but the way she was looking at him with her lips a thin line made him feel like he was in trouble.

"Mr. Potter, may I see your right hand?"

Harry had a momentary flash of panic that he knew what this was about. He extended his right hand palm up, trying to delay the inevitable.

Professor McGonagall gently took his hand and turned it over. Her eyes showing pain when she caught sight of the scars on the back of his hand.

"Why didn't you say something to me?"

"Umbridge was causing enough trouble for everyone," Harry muttered.

"That does not mean that you should have allowed this to happen and not informed me. I am your Head of House and it is my responsibility to prevent such things from happening."

Harry rubbed his fingers over the scars on the back of his hand, feeling a familiar wave of guilt.

"If I ever hear of you withholding such information from me again I will be very disappointed. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Professor," Harry replied. "Can I ask you to keep this quiet? I don't want Mrs. Weasley or anyone to know. Especially Mrs. Weasley."

"Yes, she will not take it well. But that is because she cares about you."

"I don't want her to treat me different. To always be looking at the back of my hand with the same expression she has whenever she speaks about the Dursleys."

Mr. Potter, against my better judgment I will acquiesce to your request and keep this information to myself. Imagine, doing such a thing to you. Let the Centaurs have her. Use of a Blood Quill is restricted to Gringotts."

Harry was relieved. He had a feeling he would not want to face Mrs. Weasley's wrath should she find out about this.

"Mr. Potter, I also need to talk to you about the huge discrepancy in Defense scores between DA and non-DA students. The OWL/NEWT testing board brought it to our attention a record number of failing students this year, as well as a record number of Outstanding OWLs and NEWTs this year. We thought this suspicious so we questioned a few of the students who told us they learned everything this year from you. We then compared the Outstanding OWLs to the list we have of the members of your DA. I suspect you already know what we found. Aside from your members, there were only two passing grades in the school. But everyone in the DA not only passed, they did so with flying colors. From Outstanding OWLs and NEWTs to I believe 96% was the lowest grade on the Defense Against The Dark Arts exams by your fourth and sixth year members."

Harry just stood there stunned. His students had passed exceptionally well while the rest of the school failed under Umbridge? He smiled; it was another point for his friends and their idea for the DA and one against the adults for letting that woman teach in the first place. Still, he was having trouble wrapping his head around it. The lowest grade was an Outstanding or 96%. He knew he was helping them but he was surprised that everyone did so well, and all his classmates got an Outstanding on their OWL. Hermione he expected, but Ron, Lavender and Parvati, and even Neville? He smiled again as a feeling of immense pride blossomed in his chest.

He decided to not to tell his friends and wait for them to be surprised when their OWL results came in. He knew Neville would definitely be shocked. Besides, Hermione would just make a huge deal about it, not to mention stress at any mention of OWLs.

_That night Harry fell asleep first, and seemingly responding to his meeting with Professor McGonagall he was dreaming he was back in detention with Umbridge._ _He moved over to the corner just as Ginny and Hermione appeared. Hermione glanced over and shot him a sympathetic look but Ginny looked confused at the Harry in the dream__, __bent over the desk. Ron and Neville appeared and Ron took in the scene in a second and tried to distract Ginny and Neville before they took a closer look at what was happening. But Ginny would not be distracted and wandered over to see what dream-Harry was writing. Harry had never thought he would welcome a vision from __Voldemort__ until now. Luna arrived last just as Ginny realized what was happening in the dream. Harry heard her gasp and squeezed his eyes shut._

"_Harry?" __s__he questioned. He opened his eyes __and__ looked over at her. _

_Her face was pale and her mouth was set in a firm line. One look at his face and she knew this was a memory._

Anger exploded and she disappeared from the office as she woke with a start. She yanked on her dressing gown and crept to the room the boys were sharing and slipped inside.

_Harry looked questioningly at Ron who just shrugged. "I hope your lying on your hand__, __Harry."_

_Dismay was written plainly across his face and he slid down the wall, placing his head in his hands as both Luna and Neville wandered over to see what dream-Harry was writing._

Ginny stood next to Harry's bed. Her eyes were glued on his right hand, which unfortunately for him, he was not lying on. It sat next to his face on his pillow. In the glow from the moonlight coming in the window, she could plainly see the thin white scars that spelled out, 'I must not tell lies'.

The next morning Ginny was nowhere to be found, but the periodic shuddering of the building let them all know she was in the house somewhere and releasing her anger and uncontrolled magic.

Harry varied from feeling guilty that he was causing stress to everyone, to angry – it was none of her business anyway, it was his hand - to comfort, that she cared so much. He didn't know why this thought comforted him, but he couldn't deny the feeling.

When Ginny finally did appear she spoke to her mother, and when Mrs. Weasley asked to see his hand, let the five of them know trouble was about to begin. He took a deep breath before holding out his right hand for her inspection. Her look of doubt turned to one of anger as she caught sight of the scars on his hand.

"How could anyone be so evil, to do that to a child!"

Harry was halfway between ashamed that she found out about this despite his efforts to prevent it and being annoyed at Ginny for spilling the beans.

The next few days were tough for Harry. Mrs. Weasley was furious at Umbridge for doing such a thing to him. And she was furious at Harry for keeping something like that from everyone. And just to spread her fury around, she was mad that Ron and Hermione knew about what was going on and didn't say anything to anyone either.

Harry and Neville leapt at the chance to get away from the tension in Grimmald Place when Professor McGonagall sent word that they were to meet her in her office at Hogwarts the next day.

Neville and Harry arrived in Professor McGonagall's office to find her waiting for them. "Mr. Longbottom, and Mr. Potter, I hope you gentlemen are happy with the trouble you are causing," she said.

"What are you talking about, Professor?" Harry asked, nervously wondering if she had somehow found out what they were doing. But then why weren't Ron, Hermione, Luna, and Ginny here too?

"It seems that you two have caused quite the stir on the OWL/NEWT testing board. I don't know if you realize it, but your examiner in Defense Against the Dark Arts Mr. Potter, and yours in Herbology Mr. Longbottom, quickly realized your prowess in your respective subjects and diverted from the standard OWL exam. Your ease at providing spells and knowledge from the NEWT exam has lead them to request you both come here today and speak with the board," she told them with a wide smile.

Harry didn't know what shocked him more, the knowledge that he had been given NEWT questions, or the smile on McGonagall's face.

Five hours later, Minerva McGonagall returned to the kitchen at Grimmald Place with an exhausted Harry and Neville in tow. Everyone was sitting down for dinner as the boys collapsed into chairs at the table.

"Are you boys alright?" Molly asked, concerned.

"Fine," Harry said.

"Just tired," Neville mumbled.

"What is going on? Where have you two been all day?" Ginny asked.

"It seems that Mr. Potter and Mr. Longbottom have been causing trouble," Professor McGonagall said with a smile. "They caused a stir when they surpassed the standard OWL examination. Mr. Potter in Defense Against the Dark Arts and Mr. Longbottom in Herbology. When the results of their exams were called into question the OWL/NEWT examination board felt the best way to resolve the problem was to reexamine them."

"What!" Hermione exclaimed. "They made you retake your OWLs?"

"No, Miss Granger. They have both now passed the equivalent of their NEWTs," Professor McGonagall stated, positively beaming. Hermione fell out of her chair, but nobody noticed as their open-mouthed attention was glued to the two exhausted boys who were now fidgeting in their seats. "I am extremely proud of both of you gentlemen. Please see me after the Welcoming Feast on 1 September and I will let you know what I have arranged for your advanced studies." She then passed out Hogwarts letters to the six teens before returning to her office.

Hermione couldn't wait and eagerly ripped her letter open. Ron stared at his OWL letter as if it was going to bite him.

"I got twelve OWLs! Ten Outstanding's and two Exceeds Expectations'," Hermione exclaimed. She passed her letter around.

Hermione Jean Granger OWL results:

Ancient Runes- O

Arithmancy- O

Astronomy- EE

Charms- O

Care of Magical Creatures- O

Defense Against The Dark Arts- O

Divination- O

Herbology- O

History of Magic- EE

Muggle Studies- O

Potions- O

Transfiguration- O

Harry stared at the letter. "You took OWLs for classes you dropped?"

Hermione just blushed. Harry shook his head. She loved to learn.

"Are you going to open them?" Ginny asked Ron.

Ron just continued to stare at his letter so Harry opened his.

Harry James Potter OWL results:

Ancient Runes- N/A

Arithmancy- N/A

Astronomy- A

Charms- O

Care of Magical Creatures- O

Defense Against The Dark Arts- O

Divination- P

Herbology- A

History of Magic- D

Muggle Studies- EE

Potions- EE

Transfiguration- EE

"I got eight OWLs," he reported.

Hermione looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Muggle studies?"

Harry just smirked. Ron still continued to stare at his letter as though it would explode.

Neville split his open. He read his letter and then read it again, staring at it with a look of shock. "I got si…six OWLs. I don't know how, but I got six OWLs."

Hermione took his letter and scanned it. "Two Outstanding's, three Exceeds Expectations', and an Acceptable. That is great Neville!" She said as she passed it to Harry.

Neville Franklin Longbottom OWL results:

Ancient Runes- N/A

Arithmancy- N/A

Astronomy- P

Charms- EE

Care of Magical Creatures- A

Defense Against The Dark Arts- O

Divination- P

Herbology- O

History of Magic- P

Muggle Studies- N/A

Potions- EE

Transfiguration- EE

Everyone turned to Ron as he handed his letter to Ginny. "You open it, I can't."

"Ron, are you a Gryffindor or not?" she said, opening the letter and reading it over quietly.

"Well?" he asked, after she didn't say anything for a minute.

"I'm sorry, Ron, Hermione beat you. You only got eight OWLs."

"Eight!" He grabbed the letter, scanning it quickly. "I got eight OWLs: two Outstanding's, and I passed Potions!"

He turned to Hermione. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," he exclaimed, throwing his arms around her and kissing her.

Everyone stopped and stared at the two of them.

Less than a minute later, Ron came to his senses and realized what he was doing. He jumped away from Hermione as if burned and turned beet red as he glanced at his friends. Then he ran out of the room before Hermione or anyone else could come to their senses, too. Harry grabbed the letter, which had fluttered to the table.

Ronald Bilius Weasley OWL results:

Ancient Runes- N/A

Arithmancy- N/A

Astronomy- A

Charms- EE

Care of Magical Creatures- O

Defense Against The Dark Arts- O

Divination- A

Herbology- A

History of Magic- P

Muggle Studies- N/A

Potions- A

Transfiguration- EE

Hermione had made Prefect again and Ginny, much to Fred and George's joy, did not have a badge in her own envelope.

That night, Ron took a lot of teasing for the kiss, not to mention the return of his Prefect badge. But he proved his Gryffindor heritage and officially asked Hermione to be his girlfriend. She said yes and everyone else said it was about time.

AN- I know in canon Harry didn't take Muggle Studies my Harry didn't take the class but took the test figuring it would be an easy OWL. Harry and Hermione did not take the test at the same time.


	7. A Pensieve Day, And A Night Of Changes

DISCLAIMER- I own nothing you recognize. I am forever in debt to J.K. Rowling for creating such a wonderful world to play in.

AN- Many thanks go to my beta Amber. Without her work this story would be a lot more incomprehensible.

Chapter 7- A Pensieve Day, And A Night Of Changes

Two days later Ginny's birthday rolled around. Harry had been thinking about her a lot over the last few days, pretty much since the whole magic bonding incident. Hedwig had brought it up on several occasions.

He was still not sure if she knew the whole mate situation, but he suspected she did. He was grateful that she had given him so much time to sort out himself without additional pressure from her. He had recently noticed that she was sending out signals. This was either new, or he was newly paying attention. The fact that he could interpret them was definitely new.

He had been working up his Gryffindor courage and had promised himself that today, her birthday, he would give her a real kiss.

It took most of the day as Ginny was the center of attention, but he caught sight of her heading alone into the kitchen while everyone relaxed in the sitting room. He got up as unobtrusively as her could and followed her. She was standing at the cabinet looking for something so he snuck up behind her and placed his hands over her eyes. She jumped a foot, but then relaxed in his arms.

"Hi, Harry."

"How did you know it was me?" he asked.

She turned to face him with a smirk. "I can feel your power."

"What?"

"You may not know how strong you are, Harry, but I do."

"Er…" His mind blanked for a second, and then he remembered what he had come in there for and he quickly closed the distance between their lips.

The kiss was soft and sweet; not long, but powerful. When he pulled back he laughed inwardly at the look on her face. "Happy Birthday, Ginny." he said quickly, and beat a hasty retreat. He was bombarded with emotions, good, bad, and surprising. He wasn't sure if he was going to laugh or cry but he wanted to be out sight when it happened. He ran upstairs and collapsed onto his bed, embarrassed, elated, shocked, and relived.

Fred and George had been there all evening yesterday for Ginny's party, and most of the next morning, before Harry finally got a chance to talk to them alone.

They were upset with their mother for wanting them to stay out of the war, but they were quite mad at the headmaster for not even listening to their side of things. They were of age and out of school but Dumbledore was still not allowing them in the Order.

This fit perfectly into Harry's plans. He asked them to help him out instead and told them to reinvest his share of the profits - they had given him 33% shares in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes - into inventing things for the war. This gave them free license to use their insidious intellect to come up with anything that would help.

When he explained that they were ignoring the Order and making their own plans, the twins got devious smiles on their faces. They were all for helping out with the war effort and they agreed to help Harry readily. If the Order didn't want their creative genius, Harry would appreciate it. He reviewed his plans for the DA and how they were going to do their own preparation.

The six teens were in the boy's room a few hours later, and Harry and Neville were discussing with Hermione the rules on hiring themselves a private potions tutor. The twins had told them that they were allowed to take the NEWT if they submitted a request in writing to the examination board. Harry had merely asked to be allowed to take the Muggle Studies OWL.

Fred and George had given them a short quiz and all four were of the mind that the boys would do fine with proper instruction.

That it was within the rules and would piss Snape off made it even better. Ron could also join them despite his A and if Harry knew Hermione, she would attend both the private sessions and classes with Snape to make sure she didn't miss anything.

Harry was looking for a book he had removed from his vault earlier. He was unshrinking everything he had taken from the vault and had left in the pockets of the trousers he had been wearing.

He enlarged the Pensieve. It was slightly smaller than Dumbledore's but instead of plain gray stone; it was shades of brownish red with lines of white running through the stone bowl. Thanks to his knowledge as head of the Potter line, he knew it was almost as old as Hogwarts, and how to use it.

Ginny ran her hands over the bowl. "Harry, can I ask you a favor?"

Harry looked up at her.

"Will you let me see your memory of the Chamber?" she asked, in a small trembling voice.

Harry was surprised. He didn't think bringing her into the memory was a good idea. "I don't know if that is a good idea."

"I need to do this. I need to see what happened."

He looked at her determined expression. "If you're sure."

"Yes."

"All right, did you want to go now?" He saw the interested look on Hermione's face with a sinking feeling. Her natural curiosity was showing all over her face. Ron, too, was looking interested. "Did you all want to come?" he asked with a sigh.

"Yes, please." Hermione jumped at the chance.

Ron looked embarrassed. "If you don't mind, mate."

"Sure, I'd love to come," Luna said.

"Neville?"

"I guess so," he said, with a nervous look.

"You don't have to come. But you know nothing can hurt you in the Pensieve, it is just a memory.

"Okay."

Harry placed his memory in the bowl. He now knew that he didn't have to put his whole face in the bowl. Just a finger would do.

They were a good audience. Even Luna screamed when she saw how big the Basilisk was. They screamed and gasped in all the right places. Harry had seen this before, so he helped to comfort Ginny.

She was trembling when she saw Tom taunting Harry, but then she got right up in his face when Harry pierced the diary. "Die bastard!" she screamed in his face.

When they returned from the memory, Ginny sat on the nearest bed and cried. Hermione and Ron rushed over to comfort her. Bill, George, and Fred knocked on the door; they had heard someone crying.

"What is going on?" Bill asked.

"Ginny is just a little bit upset," Hermione said, giving Ginny a hug.

Ron, ever tactful, blurted out, "Harry just showed us his memory from the Chamber of Secrets."

"Ron!"

"Wicked!" the twins said, glancing at the Pensieve.

Bill went over to Ginny. "Are you going to be alright?"

"Yes."

He looked around the room. "What were you thinking?"

Ginny looked up. "I was thinking I needed to see it. And I was right. I will be fine now."

"Did you all go?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, you should have seen it. Harry was amazing," Ron enthused.

"Ron."

"Harry, can we see?" the twins asked.

Harry dropped his head in his hands. "I guess?" he muttered.

The twins immediately ran over and fell into the Pensieve.

"Anybody else want to see?" he asked rhetorically.

"See what?" Charlie asked as he wandered into the room.

"Chamber of Secrets," Ron said.

"I was just being sarcastic," Harry mumbled.

"Mum sent me to get you all for lunch anyway," Charlie told them.

The twins returned a few minutes later and were staring at Harry in undisguised awe. This continued all through lunch, attracting Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Remus, and Tonks' attention.

"What is with you two?" Tonks asked.

"They used Harry's Pensieve to watch his night in the Chamber of Secrets," Bill offered.

Remus looked shocked, while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley looked stricken as they remembered their fears from that night. A look of enthrallment came over Tonks' face and she began discussing it with the twins in revered whispers.

Harry knew this was a losing battle. Tonks would want to see and so would Remus. Now that he thought about it, maybe it was a good idea for everyone to see, not only the Chamber but also Voldemort's resurrection and the battle at the Ministry. Fighting Voldemort was no small thing. Better that they take this opportunity then to risk freezing up in a real fight. Everyone would stare at him, but hopefully only for a little while, and if it ended up saving their lives, he could take the stares.

Hesitantly, he offered to show anyone who wanted to see the Chamber of Secrets, the third task and its aftermath, and his version of the night in the Department of Mysteries. Neville and Ginny offered supplemental versions of the Department of Mysteries.

Ron and Hermione sat in stunned silence staring at him.

Tonks and Remus, as he expected, took him up on it immediately. Mr. Weasley, as well as Bill and Charlie, wanted to go. The twins were never going to pass up that opportunity and ran upstairs to get the Pensieve.

In the end everyone ended up going, even Neville's Grandmother.

They all emerged and stood for a second in plain shock. It wasn't as bad as Harry had feared: only Bill and Charlie were staring at him.

Bill and Charlie were in fact staring at all six teens as if they had never seen them before. They retired to a quiet corner and initiated a hushed discussion, but their eyes continued to drift toward Harry and their younger siblings in particular.

Fred and George stood where they landed and were just staring at each other in silence, their eyes wide.

Remus was pale and shaky, and he collapsed into the nearest chair. He had been told the stories but apparently Harry had left out a few things. He would have major nightmares for the next two weeks.

Tonks had a faraway look on her face as she stood in the corner of the room and stared unseeingly at the wall. She too had been told of the resurrection ordeal and had actually been at the Ministry that night. She had also heard rumors that at the time she found outrageous, but now knew were understated. If he could do that, Harry could make most Aurors look like rank amateurs if he decided to.

Augusta and Molly were both in tears. While Augusta smothered Neville, Molly made the rounds around the room hugging everybody she could get her hands on, while Arthur tried to pry her off the suffocating teens.

That night had a profound effect on all who were present. Even if they didn't acknowledge it, they would never see Harry, Ron, Neville, Luna, Hermione, or Ginny in the same way again.

As for the six teens, Harry was just glad that no one seemed to have a case of hero worship.

Ginny had again seen the night in the Chamber of Secrets and this time she focused on Harry and she felt her heart shift. She had no idea how she felt about Harry now. She was in new territory and slightly scared.

Hermione was livid. It was one thing to hear Harry tell them what happened, but it was nothing compared to seeing it. Harry naturally downplayed his achievements when asked, but nothing altered a memory. To live though some of the things Harry had lived through was crushing. How did he remain sane? And how could the 'responsible adults' have let these things happen? Her already crumbling trust in authority finally collapsed.

Ron was fending off his mother while Neville was fending off his grandmother.

Luna sat quietly in a chair, her mind storing and tagging the new information in her unique way, her eyes unfocused as she watched new potentials form. Luna was blessed, or cursed, with the power of foresight. Dangerous and difficult to deal with, it led her to make new plans to implement this coming year.

That night, Molly Weasley tossed fitfully. She couldn't seem to settle down; and something was coming, she could feel it. It was as though time itself was holding its breath and the anticipation like a coiled spring was troubling her. She hoped fervently that it would not be something disastrous.

Ron Weasley was lying in his bed, unable to sleep as he thought over the events of the day. He had been surprised to see the looks his brothers were giving him today. He had always looked up to them and feared that he would be the one to not live up to the examples they set. He always wanted to make his own mark in the world, but being the sixth son in a line of extraordinary Wizards made that hard. Being best friends with the Boy-Who-Lived made it even harder. But now he thought about the fact that maybe he was making his own mark in the world. He was a Prefect for the second year in a row; he had helped Gryffindor win the House Cup and the Quidditch Cup in past years; his OWL scores were astonishing; he now had a shot at being an Auror. It had been just an idle fancy, but could he actually do it? Could he have the most respected profession in the magic world? He had certainly made a stand in the fight against the darkness in the past, much to his mother's dismay. Not to mention his relationship with Hermione: he loved her very much for being together such a short time. She was beautiful and brilliant, and he never thought he would stand a chance at being with her. If he was honest with himself, he could see spending the rest of his life with her.

Neville Longbottom stared unseeingly at the ceiling above him as he too turned over the events of the day in his mind. His Gran had cried after watching the Ministry fight and for one of the few times he could remember, it wasn't because of something he did badly. Mrs. Weasley had cried as well and nearly squeezed him to death. Neville watched along with everyone and he felt that he was not sure who the brave person who looked like him was. He barely recognized himself today. He had always felt like there was something wrong with him, like he was missing something. Bravery or intelligence or skill - he felt inadequate. Surprised to get a Hogwarts letter, surprised to be placed in Gryffindor, surprised his interest in plants gave him such good grades in Herbology, so much that he had passed his NEWT already, surprised to be invited to the DA, surprised to find people who liked him. That was it he decided, it was that they truly like him. Hermione and Ginny were always willing to help him out. And Harry. He had been stunned speechless when Harry had calmly handed over his vault key and letter, allowing Neville to take out as much money as he needed. No one had ever shown that kind of trust in him before. Harry did it without even thinking twice. He trusted him that much and he never looked down on him. If anyone deserved to look down on everyone, it was Harry. The Pensieve showed him that. He felt different here, when the six of them were together. Like he wasn't inadequate anymore; like with them he was not the person he was but the person he was meant to be, or the one he was destined to become.

Was it possible? Ron asked himself as a fire lit in his eyes. Could he measure himself against his brothers, and find _them_ wanting?

A fire sparked to life in Neville's eyes as he vowed he would do whatever it took to be worthy of that friendship and love and anything he had to do to become that person.

Molly sat up with a start. Something had happened. It was nothing she could pinpoint, but she knew somewhere deep inside her that something had changed forever.

That night, Harry was woken by a nightmare and made his way to the kitchen for a cuppa only to find he was not alone. Ginny, Hermione, and Remus were already sitting around the table.

The next morning after breakfast, Hermione explained Occlumency and started them on meditation exercises.

"I don't think we can put it off any longer."


	8. A Trip To Diagon Alley

DISCLAIMER- I own nothing you recognize. I am forever in debt to J.K. Rowling for creating such a wonderful world to play in.

AN- Many thanks go to my beta Amber. Without her work this story would be a lot more incomprehensible.

Chapter 8- A Trip To Diagon Alley

The six teens got dressed quickly, excited about the upcoming trip for school supplies. Over breakfast Harry contemplated Remus Lupin. He was sitting across from him eating and was one of the adults accompanying them to the alley. Harry was not sure what to call the man anymore. He had ignored Harry for years and then was a Hogwarts professor in his third year. He had kept Harry at arms length while he was a professor, but he did relax a little to teach Harry the Patronus Charm and tell Harry a few stories about his parents. Harry found it easier to get closer to Sirius once he knew the truth about his parents' betrayer. But Sirius was gone now, and he and Remus had pulled together in their shared loss. The man had told him to call him Remus but Harry had trouble, sometimes he saw him as Remus, sometimes Professor Lupin; he supposed he just needed to adjust.

He was also thinking about Ginny. In organizing his memories for their Occlumency exercises, he realized that he watched Ginny quite a lot. The birthday kiss had been weighing on his mind. Well, not so much the kiss as his reaction to it. He knew that Hedwig was right: there was something going on between him and Ginny.

Remus and Mrs. Weasley took the floo to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' back room first, followed by Neville and Hermione. Harry went next and as usual fell from the floo. He was picking himself up from the floor when Luna stepped calmly out. She almost ran into him and looked questioningly at him. "You should move quickly out of the way when other people are behind you." He blushed.

The twins led them into the main store and Harry noticed they were wearing nametags, one said 'Ted,' the other said 'Dan.' He smothered a laugh. They were doing brisk business. He found a few things he would like but he had to wait until after visiting Gringotts and Professor Lupin – Remus - was calling him. He walked over as Ron, Neville, and Hermione joined him. He didn't see where Luna went, but Ginny was standing near the front of the store staring with wide eyes into a huge tank of multi-colored puffballs.

"Pigmy puffs, three Galleons each! They are going quickly," the twins announced, coming over.

Ginny whispered in 'Ted's' ear and he paled three shades. He looked at her with a very serious expression. "Are you sure?" he asked. She nodded and he went over to the display tank and pulled out a small blue puffball and handed it to her.

'Dan' gave him a questioning look, and Luna came around the corner with a small cage and supplies to take care of the pigmy puff in her arms and whispered in his ear. He looked surprised but took the two Galleons she held out to him.

Ginny just looked stunned at the puffball in her hand and if Harry had to hazard a guess, she had found her familiar.

Mrs. Weasley was watching, happy that the twins would give away the little animal to their sister, but thrown by Ginny's reaction.

At Gringotts, Griphook was again assigned to help Harry. They took a cart to his trust vault, and he filled a bottomless bag, which despite its name actually had a bottom, with galleons. He needed his school supplies as well as money for candy, WWW stuff, and to replace Neville's broken wand. He insisted he would pay for a new one since it was mostly his fault that his dad's old one was broken. After a lengthy argument, Harry had to insist.

Their first stop was the same as Harry's first visit, Madam Malkins. Harry didn't need any robes but both Luna and Hermione did. He waited outside with Ginny, Ron and Neville while the girls were fitted.

The stop at Flourish and Blotts went smoother than Harry thought it would. Apparently Hermione had ordered a lot of books by Owl Order and so she only bought thirteen more besides their course books.

Luna had found some book bags that held up to 25 books and still weighed 1 kg for easy carrying, and purchased one for all six of them. So they had somewhere to pack away the books they just bought.

Back outside after a stop for parchment and ink, Hermione spotted a shop a little ways down. "When was the last time you had your eyes checked, Harry?"

Harry just stared at her blankly. "Checked for what?"

She rolled her eyes and pulled him into the store. A short round-faced woman looked up from behind the counter.

"Can I help you?"

Hermione pulled Harry forward. "He needs his eyes checked."

Harry just stood there. "Checked for what?"

"Your prescription, Harry."

"Prescription? I'm not sick."

Hermione looked at him in exasperation, thinking he was being stupid on purpose, but was stunned to see he looked genuinely confused. "Harry, where did you get the glasses you're wearing?"

"Aunt Petunia brought them home after the school complained. I never asked where she got them."

"You mean you have never been to an eye doctor?"

Harry glanced at the woman behind the counter for a second then pulled Hermione closer and whispered, "I have never been to any doctor. Do you think the Dursleys spent money on me?"

Hermione stared openmouthed at him for a second, as if trying to comprehend something so foreign. She turned to the woman behind the counter. "He needs his eyes checked."

The lady smiled. "Well up into the chair, young man."

Harry sat nervously in the chair as she waved her wand around his head a few times. She took his glasses and tapped them with her wand. "These are not the right prescription," she told him. Then she preformed two more spells on his glasses before handing them back to him. "The spells are only temporary but you should see better with them now.

He put them on and was amazed; he could not remember ever seeing so clearly in his whole life.

"If you want to pick out some new frames I will make a permanent pair for you." She said with a smile.

Harry picked out some new frames that were sleeker and more stylish than his old black plastic onesand paid 11 galleons for his new glasses. He walked out on the street and was still amazed at how far away he could see things. "Thanks, Hermione!"

The six teens then visited the small bakery shop on Diagon Alley that sold candy. They mostly specialized in delicate pastries and fruit tarts, but they had a decent selection of candy as well. It was not anywhere compared to Honeydukes but they would have to wait for Hogsmeade weekends once back at Hogwarts to visit there.

Harry spotted Olivanders and dragged Neville in to replace his father's wand, which had got broken in the Department of Mysteries. Two seconds later, Ginny joined them. Harry looked at her questioningly as she took a seat in the chair.

"I saved my birthday money and I think I will use it for a wand of my own. I have been using my great grandmothers and it works okay, but…"

Harry smiled, "I think that's a great idea. Can't have you working magic with a handicap."

"Mr. Potter, how nice to see you again. holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, not having trouble with it, are you?"

"No sir, I'm not here for me," he said, pulling Neville next to him.

"Ah, Mr. Longbottom, and Miss Weasley!" He nodded a greeting as she got up from the chair. "I was expecting you both several years ago."

"Er, I have been using my father's wand," Neville said as the measuring tape whipped around his body.

"Yes, a fine wand, but you never get such good results with another's wand."

After a couple of tries, Neville matched spectacularly with a cherry wand with a unicorn hair.

"Miss Weasley, which is your wand arm?" Olivander asked as Harry paid six Galleons and eleven Sickles for Neville's wand.

Ginny took much longer to match but finally did so with an oak wand with a dragon heartstring core. She paid for hers and they joined everyone else outside.

They stopped in the owl emporium next, where Harry and Ron picked up some treats for Hedwig and Pig.

Sometime over the course of the day, Harry had taken to holding Ginny's hand. He was not sure when, but it felt natural to do so.

Much to Hermione's frustration, they stopped at Quality Quidditch Supplies, where they spent almost twenty minutes despite no one buying anything.

Next stop was the Apothecary, and Harry once again shook his head at Hermione's love of learning.

_Last night while making his list for today__,__ it occurred to him that despite his intention to hire a private Potions tutor__,__ he had no idea who or how. He asked Hermione__,__ who smiled and pulled out several sheets of parchment. She handed him three with a list of ingredients on them._

"_I took out an ad in the Journal of Potion Masters last month. I hope you don't mind I used your name. Not many Potion Masters want to teach children. These are the top three responses__," she__ said, handing him his profiles on three people._

"_This is the contract I had my family barrister draw up__," she said,__ handing him more papers._

_"And the agreement with Hogwarts for use of the facilities." She held out a parchment signed by Professor McGonagall._

"_We just need to pick one and sign the contract."_

_He just stared openmouthed at her. It only just occurred to him now he should do something about getting a tutor and she had blown him away with her genius again. To do all this prep work that he didn't think he would have ever thought about. A contract? Er… permission to use a potion lab at Hogwarts? Duh… where did he think they were going to learn__?_

"_At least one of us has a brain__," he__ said. Hermione blushed. "You pick someone__;__ I'm obviously in good hands."_

"_River Anderson__," she said,__ pulling two of the papers from his hand. "There is her list of supplies."_

Harry had a lot to buy at the Apothecary shop. He needed the sixth and seventh year potions kit and refills for a bunch of things that he was running out of due to the Slytherins sabotaging and Snape vanishing his potions, forcing him to redo them. He also had plans for other potions to make that were outside the normal curriculum.

He was trying to juggle his shrunken packages when a house elf that obviously belonged to the Longbottoms popped in and took Neville's stuff back to Grimmauld Place. He sighed. "Where's Dobby when I need him?"

"Master calls for Dobby?" said the little elf as he popped in.

Harry stood there stunned. "Dobby, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked.

"Master called for Dobby," he said, confused.

"Dobby, I'm not your Master," Harry said.

"Master Harry Potter sir is being giving Dobby a direct order to lie to 'her' and he is forbidding Dobby to punish himself."

Harry remembered the incident that revolved around Dobby warning him that the DA was about to be discovered.

Suddenly Neville laughed. "Oh Harry, don't you know anything about House Elves?"

"Apparently not, can you explain this?"

"I think Dobby did a wonderful job already. He was an unattached House Elf, you gave him a direct order, he obeyed it, and he has been bound to you since then," he explained with another snicker.

Harry sputtered, "But I thought you were a free elf!"

"Dobby is being bound to Master Harry Potter sir now."

"Dobby, do you want clothes so you can be free again? I didn't know giving you that order bound you to me."

Dobby's ears dropped. "Master is not happy with Dobby?"

"No, no, I'm happy with you, but I thought you wanted to be free elf?"

"House Elves is needing to be bound to keep theirs magic, Dobby's powers was already starting to fade, but I was preferring that to being bound to bad Master Malfoy. Dobby is always wanting to be being the great Harry Potter's elf, but I is never dreamed Master Harry Potter would be wanting Dobby. I was being sad to be fading away but that is life."

Harry gave his pile of stuff to Dobby who popped away with a happy grin. Hermione scowled at him. "I'll pay him and give him vacations and stuff," he said, holding his hands up in surrender. Neville snickered again.

The next to last stop was a clothing store that Harry had never seen before. They didn't sell robes but instead specialized in a cross between Muggle and Wizard clothing to wear beneath robes.

Harry was glad he took a lot of money from his vault, because now that he was here, he decided to replace his cousin's grubby hand me downs.

His mistake was to mention this to the three girls he was with. The girls squealed and took off in three different directions. Less than a minute later, all three returned with arms full of clothing and pushed him to the dressing rooms.

Harry was surprised, as the girls he thought he knew became chattering, giggling, mockeries of themselves. Ron groaned, Neville snickered, and Harry realized he had gotten in over his head.

They sent him into the dressing room with several outfits to try on, and he had to come out and show them every one. They pulled out different sizes and styles, put others back, and brought out more for him to try on. He had no idea who these women were.

After almost an hour of trying on most of the store, they brought the stacks of clothing to the counter.

He had jeans, trousers, shorts, t-shirts, polo shirts, dress shirts, socks, even ties. He had tried to put back some of the more embarrassing pairs of boxer shorts they picked out but that only caused them to pick out more, so he gave up.

He was going to need another trunk just to hold his clothes, he thought, as he paid by account transfer. They'd practically bought out the store.

Harry called for Dobby to come and take his mountain of new clothing back to Grimmauld Place.

The new clothing caused an impromptu visit to buy some new shoes to go along with them. Harry got his first pair of new trainers, some regular brown shoes, and a pair of black dress shoes.

While waiting to see if they met with the girls' approval, he found some nice wand holsters and pointed them out to everyone. They were inexpensive so everyone got one, thinking it was a good idea.

Their last stop of the day was Weasley Wizarding Wheezes. Harry bought some skiving snackboxes, trick candies, and other odds and ends before taking the floo back to Grimmald Place.

He landed on the floor as usual but looking normal, which was better than Ron, who despite stepping upright from the floo was neon green from head to toe.

"Fred and George," he muttered before stomping upstairs.

Harry worked up his Gryffindor courage that night and asked Ginny if they might try for something more than friendship. She smiled and gave him a searing kiss that left him breathless. He should ask her stuff like that more often if that was the response.

AN- I think that Britain has national health care but Harry was dropped on a doorstep with a note, not legal paperwork like a birth certificate and such. The Dursleys would probably not bother trying to track down stuff for Harry and just used Dudley's paperwork to forge whatever was needed. Besides if you are going to neglect your nephew you don't take him to doctors who are required to report it.


	9. The Return To Hogwarts, And The Army Reg

DISCLAIMER- I own nothing you recognize. I am forever in debt to J.K. Rowling for creating such a wonderful world to play in.

AN- Many thanks go to my beta Amber. Without her work this story would be a lot more incomprehensible.

Chapter 9- The Return To Hogwarts and The Army Regroups

It was the usual 1 September morning chaos as the six teens did last minute packing and running around between bacon sandwiches. This year they again had Ministry cars for the journey to King's Cross though the drivers were sent to the end of Grimmauld Place so they had to be packed and at the end of the street before they showed up.

They somehow managed it and Harry didn't bother paying attention on the ride as he was sucked into a tickle game with Ginny and Luna.

Finally arriving and finding a compartment near the end of the train, the six of them settled in the trunks and pets for the whole ten minutes they had to spare. Hermione and Ron left for the Prefect meeting and the other four pulled out books or magazines to read in the meantime.

Once the meeting was over and Ron and Hermione had returned, Harry brought out the pendants he had bought for the six of them and handed them out.

In the center of each was a jewel surrounded by the words 'The Ministry Six'. Both he and Neville being born in July had red rubies in the center. Ron and Hermione's had blue stones in the center. Hermione had the darker of the two. It was a sapphire while Ron's was an aquamarine. Ginny's was a green peridot and Luna had purple amethyst. Before they all put them on Harry explained that they were spelled for protection and were Portkeys that would bring them to Grimmauld Place.

The tickle fight lived on but otherwise the ride passed quietly and as they exited the train Harry realized that the glass to the face had seemed to teach Malfoy what they could not, and he had refrained from making a nuisance of himself with his usual train ride taunt.

As he entered the great hall the crowd quieted briefly and Harry ignored them sitting with his friends. After the tables were cleared, Harry listened to the typical announcements including the introduction of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher: the very young looking Professor Delaney.

After the feast all of the sixth year Gryffindors had a short meeting with McGonagall to pick classes for the year. They were allowed a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 6, their choices based on the OWLs they received and class requirements.

Traditionally, sixth years had a lot of free time that would be needed for studying for NEWTS. Which was a good thing because Harry and Neville had elected to continue going to DADA and Herbology classes respectively. Both Professors Sprout and Delaney had set aside time during their former free periods on Monday and Thursday mornings to do advanced instruction. Harry also signed up for Transfiguration, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and Charms.

Their private potions instruction was also taken into account, and had to fit in around Hermione's rather full schedule since, as Harry had predicted, she was planning on going to both classes. Harry was amazed at the spells used to make the schedules work with all the additions. His and Neville's were almost the same.

With an almost identical schedule to Neville, Harry had just assumed the role of his class partner. The four sixth year Gryffindor students could partner with each other during any of their shared classes. Harry just naturally paired with Neville, leaving the couple together, though Ron took a light schedule while Hermione took a heavy one. Harry assumed she had study partners in Ancient Runes and Arithmancy.

Fortunately, despite there normally being a pretty even split among the four houses, the fifth year Gryffindor class was rather small while the Ravenclaw class was larger than usual. It was therefore easiest to pair the smaller Gryffindor class with Ravenclaw rather than squeeze in the Hufflepuff or Slytherin classes. Allowing Ginny and Luna to have every class together except Muggle Studies, which Luna didn't take.

Snape was fit to be tied when he learned of the private Potions tutor. When his many complaints to Professor McGonagall did nothing, he tried to appeal to the Headmaster and was rebuffed. Harry was perfectly within the rules. So though their new Occlumency shields got a workout there was nothing the man could do. That he was forced to take Hermione into his class nonetheless almost pushed him too far.

Harry knew it was corny but the first Saturday at school he went down to the kitchens and acquired a basket of food from the school elves and he invited Ginny to join him for a picnic by the lake.

They spent the day lying under the weeping willow tree by the lake. After the initial shyness of the idea of a date wore off, they fell into a comfortable kind of silence before they relaxed and starting talking.

They talked about everything and nothing, nibbling on treats from the basket. Harry came to the realization that the two of them just seemed to click. The peaceful day ended with a light kiss and Harry and Ginny going to sit with their separate groups of friends for dinner.

From the first week the four sixth year students bowed to Neville's Herbology knowledge as they did to Harry in Defense. But Neville was beginning to scare Harry. He looked unsure the first few days when Harry sat next to him but as time passed he was more confident. But it was that with a properly attuned wand and a small bit of encouragement he really thrived. He succeeded at more and more assignments unassisted and the confident look became more commonly seen on his face.

Members of the DA kept asking Harry when the first meeting was going to be so he used his master coin to schedule one on the second week of school.

The class before the meeting Harry got a surprise when Professor McGonagall kept him back. She told him that all of Umbridge's decrees had been repealed and asked him his vote for the new Quidditch captain. When he told her Katie, she handed him the captain's badge and told him he was outvoted. Apparently everyone else voted for him, even the twins, who had sent her a letter by mail much to her amusement. He found his Firebolt in the dorm and posted a sign for tryouts the first weekend of October in the common room.

During the first DA meeting, Harry noticed that quite a few extra people had shown up then were on the list, most notably a large group of Ravenclaws and a small handful of Slytherins. Harry, who had had the foresight to make a new contract, welcomed them and had everyone sign telling them straight out it was cursed this time. A red-faced Ron gave him a hurt look and Harry knew he would have to talk to Ron tonight but at least under Hermione's influence he was keeping quiet.

He reviewed the spells they had done last year, surprising the new members when some of younger students easily completed spells that they didn't even know. He moved around the room helping those new students; even the Slytherins who seemed to be looking at him strangely.

Predictably, as soon as the last person left Ron exploded. "What do you think your doing helping those slimy snakes?"

"Ron, listen up because I'm only gonna say this once. I will teach anybody who wants to learn but I am not stupid. They signed the contract the same as everyone. I'm surprised they are willing to come to me and have no idea how they found out where we are but I will teach them."

"They are only going to take what you teach them and use it against us later."

"They can't. Not without activating the curse on the contract."

"They won't anyway," Luna cut in.

Ron whirled on her, "What!"

"They won't use what they learn here against Harry. They are looking to learn. Harry is right to be surprised they came to him but they did. How he responded to them will change their views, and they are going to herald a shift in war."

Ron made to stomp out of the room when Luna snagged his arm and whispered in his ear. The color drained from his face at whatever she said and he took a fortifying breath before leaving quietly. The other four teens looked to her and she smiled "He just had to have it explained to him so he understands it."

It seemed Luna was right because Ron said nothing further about it to any of them.

Ron came to Harry in a panic on 15 September. He realized that the book he had bought to give to Hermione on her birthday, while nice, was not a boyfriend gift. Much to Harry's surprise Ron knew exactly what he wanted to get for her instead. He just needed a loan. Harry gave him the three Galleons he asked for and hoped for Hermione's sake Ron had a good idea. Therefore he was greatly surprised when Ron gave her the book on her birthday.

Hermione looked a little disappointed and Ginny glared at Ron, who winked at her. Harry gave him a questioning look and Ron winked and nodded at him too. That day Ron was extra attentive to her carrying her bag and fussing over her food.

At lunch, Pig delivered to her a single red rose, and he had trouble carrying that. After their last class Ron pulled Harry aside and told him not to wait for him and Hermione for dinner. So Harry headed to the great hall with Neville and sat with Ginny and Luna who had taken to sitting with Neville despite being in Ravenclaw. There was no rule that you had to sit at the house tables except at the feasts, and Luna had said that her housemates had done nothing to earn her loyalty to house boundaries.

It was later that night when Ron and Hermione returned to the Common Room that Harry found out Ron had put together a romantic dinner and a glowing Hermione showed off her new bracelet, the book had been a ruse, and he was happy that Ron seemed to have gotten it right. Even Ginny gave Ron a bright smile after Hermione started gushing.

With Luna in Ravenclaw the six teens had taken possession of a table in the library and studied there. Harry was sitting next to Luna working on his Transfiguration essay but Luna and Ginny, who sat next to her on the bench, were playing.

Luna elbowed Ginny lightly in the side and Ginny responded in kind,each escalating up, till with a particularly hard hit Ginny knocked Luna into Harry. He looked at her and they both smiled before grabbing the table and moving in synch to the right, pushing Ginny off the bench onto the floor.

"Hey! Not fair, two against one," she whined as she collapsed in laughter.

Hermione could not keep the smile off her face even as Madam Pince chased the laughing teens out.

The next day, Harry received a note that he was to report to Dumbledore's office after dinner. He was feeling particularly resentful of the old man when he knocked on the door.

"Come in, come in, Harry," Dumbledore said as he swept the door open. "Harry, this is Maura Shaw. She has an interesting proposal for you."

Maura Shaw looked to be about in her early thirties with very long straight brown hair and light blue eyes. "Good afternoon, Mr. Potter. It is an honor to finally meet you," she said, holding out her hand for him to shake.

He shook it, mumbling something unintelligible, before taking a seat in one of Dumbledore's squashy armchairs across from her. He had to give her credit for not even looking at his forehead. Dumbledore returned to behind his desk.

"Mr. Potter, may I call you Harry?"

Harry gave a surprised nod. Most people didn't ask, they just assumed he wouldn't mind.

"Thank you. Feel free to call me Maura. Harry, I'm doing research on creating a shield to block the Killing Curse and I think you might be able to help me in my research, being the only person to live after having it cast on you."

Harry fidgeted in his chair, he was sure he was not going to like where this was going.

"I am quite accomplished in Legitimacy and would like your permission to mine your mind for your memory of that night."

Harry felt a moment of pure panic. There it was. He knew he wouldn't like it. He opened his mouth but she held up a hand.

"I know you don't remember that night, but your subconscious will have recorded everything that happened to you that night no matter how trivial. Though it is likely to be quite the buried memory. It may take several months to find it. If we can determine exactly what happened to you that night it may help us figure out a way for others to survive as you did. I know that most people don't like having their memories gone through, but I promise that anything I see will remain in the strictest confidence."

Dumbledore interrupted, "Maura, I don't think…"

She swung her head around, cutting him off. "I am quite aware of what you think. I don't believe I requested your opinion. This may take several months of looking through Harry's memories. That requires a certain level of trust. A trust I am not willing to betray to anyone no matter how great their opinion of themselves may be."

Dumbledore frowned slightly, and Harry took an instant liking to Maura.

Harry was still unsure but had agreed to meet once a month with Maura to talk and see if he felt comfortable enough with her then. He was torn because part of him wanted to help but the rest of him was freaked out at someone else playing with his memories.

Harry had brought something up to Hermione that she decided to fix. There were not very many options for dating in the Wizarding World. Mostly Hogsmeade weekends and trying to find an empty broom cupboard, with the occasional trip to the Astronomy tower. Both Harry and Hermione had noticed that wizards also had fewer sports, games, classes, and food options than the Muggle world. Neville and Luna both being Purebloods had no idea other than what they had been brought up with. Neither did Ron or Ginny. Harry knew of some things having heard of them before, but as the Dursleys never took him anywhere he had no experience. Hermione took it upon herself to rectify Harry's lack of experience and the four Purebloods' lack of knowledge. She declared that the five of them were to meet her in the ROR the third weekend of every month starting that night.

When Harry walked in he didn't recognize the place. Hermione smiled at them and waved her hand as if presenting a prize. "We are going bowling tonight."

So they followed Hermione's instructions and switched their shoes and found bowling balls that fit their fingers.

Harry watched Hermione as she showed them how to approach and release the ball. When he tried it he found it much harder to do then she had made it look. He was absolutely terrible.

But so was everyone else. That made it a lot more fun. They tried the rules for the first game and no one but Hermione got over a 55. It was a couple of balls into the second game that the game started. They were trying to find the craziest way to get the ball down the alley.

They put it on the floor and pushed it, they stood at the foul line backwards and swung it between their legs, they rolled it down the alley from a chair sitting on the lane, they got crazier and it was so silly that they had a blast. The fact that the second games' scores were better just made it funnier.

Ginny was hanging on to Harry to keep herself upright while she laughed till she cried. Harry was sure he had never seen Ron that color before and was sure he was going to bust something. It took a long time to reign themselves in and make their way back to the common rooms.

If every month was going to go like that Harry was eager for them.

The three couples spent time together and time individually. Harry and Ginny spent a lot of time talking and he was in the odd position of being able to help her with her homework. He was so proud of her sometimes when she finally understood what he was explaining. He wondered if this was how Hermione always felt. No wonder she didn't mind helping them for the past five years.

Close to the end of September one night after dinner Harry finally claimed some free time, grabbed his broom, and headed out to the Quidditch pitch. When he arrived he discovered someone had had a similar idea.

He scanned the sky and his breath hitched as tendrils of cold fear gripped his heart. Ginny was high above the ground and in free fall, her eyes were closed, her arms outstretched, as she plummeted toward the ground rapidly approaching a speed that would be fatal should she hit.

Closer to the ground than Harry liked, she pulled out the broom that appeared to be strapped to her back and maneuvered herself astride it before spiraling off toward the goal posts.

Harry collapsed to his knees in relief and knelt on the grass as various emotions passed through him. He was horrified, relived, impressed, terrified, furious, and as if stuck by lightning the realization hit him, he was in love with Ginny.

AN- I couldn't find Luna's birth date mentioned anywhere so I used my trusty dice and rolled her one February 22nd

AN- A perfect score in bowling is a 300, a 55 is pretty bad.


	10. Under The Leadership Of A Sixteen Year O

DISCLAIMER- I own nothing you recognize. I am forever in debt to J.K. Rowling for creating such a wonderful world to play in.

AN- Many thanks go to my beta Amber. Without her work this story would be a lot more incomprehensible.

Chapter 10- Under The Leadership Of A Sixteen Year Old Wizard

October brought cooler weather and Quidditch tryouts. Harry was a nervous wreck; this was his first responsibility as captain. Katie and Ron, the only other holdovers from last year's team, stood with Harry as he surveyed the field. He was astonished that half of Gryffindor house seemed to have turned up.

Harry decided to start with a basic test, asking all applicants for the team to divide into groups of ten and fly once around the pitch. This was a good decision: The first ten was made up of first years and it could not have been plainer that they had hardly ever flown before. Only one boy managed to remain airborne for more than a few seconds, and he was so surprised he promptly crashed into one of the goal posts.

The second group was comprised of ten of the silliest girls Harry had ever encountered, who, when he blew his whistle, merely fell about giggling and clutching one another. When he told them to leave the pitch, they did so quite cheerfully and went to sit in the stands to heckle everyone else.

The third group had a pileup halfway around the pitch. Most of the fourth group had come without broomsticks. The fifth group was Hufflepuffs.

"If there's anyone else here who's not from Gryffindor," roared Harry, who was starting to get seriously annoyed, "leave now, please!"

There was a pause, and then a couple of little Ravenclaws went sprinting off the pitch, snorting with laughter.

After two hours, many complaints, and several tantrums, Harry had found Gryffindor two Chasers: a new find called Demelza Robins, who was particularly good at dodging Bludgers, and Ginny Weasley, who had out flown all the competition and scored seventeen goals to boot; as well as two Beaters, neither of whom had the old brilliance of Fred and George, but he was still reasonably pleased with them: Jimmy Peakes, a short but broad-chested third-year boy who had managed to raise a lump the size of an egg on the back of Harry's head with a ferociously hit Bludger, and Ritchie Coote, who looked weedy but aimed well.

After fixing the time for the first full practice, everyone wandered back to the castle or on the grounds. Harry returned to the common room to prepare for the DA meeting that night.

Harry walked around the DA room observing as everyone practiced his or her shield spells. He saw Hermione's shield absorb the Stunner Ginny fired at her. Next to them Neville was partnered with Luna. Not surprisingly, instead of the blue shield like everyone else in the room, Luna stood behind a different shield. It was teal in color, more green than blue, and where the normal shield curved at the edges forming an oval shape hers' stood before her in a flat rectangle, and it didn't absorb Neville's Stunner but reflected it back at him. Harry just shook his head as he revived Neville. He turned to find Ron staring openmouthed at Luna and her shield before his eyes unfocused for a second and he slowly walked around Luna.

"Luna, can you move that shield slightly to the side?" Ron asked, placing his hands to show her where he wanted it moved to.

She smiled slightly and the shield moved to the right, leaving her left arm just barely covered and a large gap on the other side. Everyone else stopped practicing to watch.

He turned to his sister. "Ginny, can you go stand on Luna's right side?" Ginny moved over, a questioning look on her face. "Now put your arms around each other. Keep the shield in place." They complied and Hermione gasped. Ron turned to her. "You see it too?"

"See what?" Ginny asked.

"Luna, how do you do that spell?" Hermione asked.

Harry looked questioningly at Ron, as Luna showed Hermione and Ginny the spell. It was the same incantation just a different wand movement. "Just watch, Harry." Ron said with the same expression on his face that he reserved for the chessboard.

Hermione managed to cast the shield and Luna helped her move it to the left side, causing Ron to smile wider. Hermione pulled Ginny over next to her, throwing her arm around Ginny's shoulders. Luna stood next to Ginny and recast her shield already skewed to the side. Luna's shield overlapped Hermione's by about four inches in the middle and completely covered Ginny who was sandwiched in between them. Harry dropped his wand.

"Two shielders and a shooter in the center to make up a strike team," Ron said.

Harry smiled. "Everyone split up into groups of three," he instructed. "Decide who will be the shooter and who will shield." Everyone immediately shuffled around forming teams.

"All the teams need to practice moving together," Hermione said, as she used a light binding charm to secure the shooter's ankles to the shielders' ankles. Harry smiled as everyone got used to moving as a team; it looked like some kind of twisted three-legged race. After about an hour of lots of falling and laughing, Harry called a halt and asked that the teams find time to practice on their own, and everyone left the room with smiles and giggles.

October also brought the first Hogsmeade weekend, and for the first time Harry was not spending the day with Ron and Hermione. The six friends had mutually agreed to spend the day with their significant others.

Hand in hand, Harry and Ginny walked below the changing leaves down the path to the village. They hit Honeydukes first for a candy re-supply, after which she dragged him into This and That, a store that as far as he could tell, sold junk. They visited the Shrieking Shack and several small nooks for stolen kisses.

They had lunch at the Three Broomsticks much to Harry's relief. He never wanted to set foot in Madam Puddifoot's again. But Ginny was not really the type of girl to enjoy the teashop anyway.

After lunch they went to Zonko's joke shop because Ginny said she needed to scope out the competition for the twins. Harry didn't see anything he wanted that the twins didn't do bigger, better, and louder.

They headed back up to the castle early and ensconced themselves in a quiet corner of the common room for a prolonged snog session.

Harry met with Maura that weekend and invited his five friends. He needed their opinions; so far he hadn't gone wrong trusting them.

Ron was aghast at the idea of someone poking around in his head, and couldn't believe Harry was even considering it.

Ginny was focused on Harry. She told him to weigh the pros and cons carefully. He would have good memories of his parents but he would also have a horrible one.

Hermione was intrigued and got into a long and technical discussion with Maura about the shield she was working on.

Neville was also intrigued but what sold him was when he allowed Maura to pull out a childhood memory of his parents.

Luna abstained from commenting saying it was Harry's head and therefore Harry's decision.

Harry told her he would have to take more time to consider it and she left him with a copy of the standard privacy contract regarding anything she would see.

Hedwig flew to him at breakfast the next morning, dropping a note on his plate and snatching his bacon.

It was from the had worked fast and were coming to show Harry some of the things they had developed for him. They would meet him tomorrow night in the abandoned classroom across from the trophy room. Harry had no idea how they were planning to sneak back into the castle but if anyone was capable, it was them.

The next night, the Weasley twins revealed their genius. They had brought him six new products with enough supplies to outfit the whole DA.

Disappearing drops, a small candy that makes you invisible when swallowed but is unfortunately limited to about ten seconds. They were looking for ways to make it last longer.

SNEAKers: they were two straps with a built in Silencing Charm that wrapped around your feet or shoes and to Harry's surprise, fastened around the ankle with Velcro. George smiled at his surprise "You have to love Muggles. They have some brilliant ideas."

Along the same idea was a fingerless glove-like holder that attached to your hand and in the center was an adjustable semi-permanent sticking charm that once activated prevented you from being disarmed.

They had improved their Extendable Ears. They had found a way to disillusion them to further prevent notice of the victims.

A Lightstick: which was a small stone pendent that either hung round your neck or clipped to your robes. It shone with a small steady light about the size of a typical Lumos spell. Which while handy enough were even better as they could be tuned to certain people, and once so tuned, only that person could see the light.

Ball bombs: stored a powerful Concussion spell. Throwing the ball breaks it and casts the spell in a shockwave from the ball affecting everyone it hits. Of course it weakened the further it spread.

And their counter: a small pin that when attached to your robes shields you from the ball bombs effect. Harry had no idea how. They explained it but it was over his head.

Of course they also gave him a generous supply of Wheezes. They were the twins after all.

As per his instructions, Harry turned up at the Room of Requirements just before lunch. Hermione had six comfy chairs set facing a blank wall with an elaborate looking machine behind them. Between the chairs and the wall was a low table with several pizzas on it.

Harry had good memories of pizza. He had never been allowed any but he thought it smelled good when the Dursleys ordered it. It made cleaning the kitchen after dinner very simple since only Aunt Petunia put hers on a plate. Vernon and Dudley ate from the box and there was only so much mess you could make with it.

The five were hooked just as millions of teenagers around the world. After stuffing themselves, they sat back in the comfy chairs and Hermione started the machine, which projected a movie on the blank wall, actually three movies, The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Hermione spent more time watching the enthralled looks on her five friends' faces then the movies, but she had already seen the movies and her friends were much more amusing. She was going to have to do this again.

Harry passed out the new stuff at the next DA meeting. They then moved on to something he had wanted to try: power measuring. He asked the room for targets and had everyone fire Reductor spells. There was a massive power spread among his students, but Neville and Ginny surprised everyone. After struggling all the time to force non-compatible wands to work, now that they had a wand that was properly attuned to them they blew everyone, even the target dummies, away.

After the meeting ended and the Ministry Six were the only ones left in the room, Harry plopped down onto a loveseat, his head in his hands.

Ginny sat next to was paler then usual. "Harry, are you okay?"

"Not really. I guess the reality just hit me. I commissioned war items, and tonight taught spells designed the kill or seriously maim. Do have the right to teach people how to kill?"

"Harry, we are heading into a war."

"I know, but this is real. We are just students."

"You laid out the rules of the game for us, Harry. You knew the stakes before you stepped on the pitch. There is no second place. You're either the winner… or you're dead."

That night Harry sat in the common room fretting over the fact that he had quite a lot of people looking up to him to lead them. He was not pacing for more than five minutes when Hedwig ghosted through the window and perched on his shoulder.

"You are a great wizard, my Harry."

"Not really. Hermione is much smarter than me," he protested.

"Being smart doesn't make you great."

"If Dumbledore and the Order hadn't shown up that night in the Department of Mysteries we all would have died."

"If you believe in the Prophecy, my Harry, then you have to believe in the whole thing. That neither can live while the other survives, but also that you have the power to vanquish Voldemort."

Harry stopped and stared at Hedwig. He had never thought about it from that point of view before. She was right. The Prophecy stated that he had the power to vanquish Voldemort, that he had been marked as his equal. Maybe he was stronger than he thought. Did he have the power to do this?

"Trust me, you have the power. You just have to learn how to wield it."

"How do I do that?" he asked.

"You know. You have been doing it all this time. Pulling your friends to you has produced your magic bond and awakened your powers. Just keep doing what you're doing and you will not even recognize yourself at the end of this."

He really hated it when she did that. She had complete faith in him and his abilities but he wouldn't mind some more detailed answers. What kind of powers had awakened and how did he wield them?

The end of October brought the Slytherin/Ravenclaw Quidditch game. Harry didn't go since it drove him crazy when he was not playing and he spotted the Snitch while the games' seekers were oblivious. Ravenclaw squeaked out a win over Slytherin.

Halloween passed quietly despite Harry mood swinging from edginess to sadness. November blew in with colder weather. Harry was more than capable of a warming charm, which he used liberally the night he took Ginny up to the Astronomy tower to lay out and look at the stars. They both knew the popular use of the tower and decided to just enjoy a night together without expectations or pressure.

Two days later, the Ministry Six were finishing up homework at their usual table in the library. Harry and Luna were lugging over more books when the Headmaster, Professor Flitwick, and a younger witch in blue robes found them.

"Miss Lovegood,can we speak with you in my office for a few minutes?" Professor Flitwick asked.

"It's not necessary professor, I know my father died this morning." Neville quickly grasped her hand and Hermione and Ginny gasped, only Professor Flitwick seemed unsurprised. "With no more living relations you have come to discuss my placement for the next year until I come of age."

The young witch moved forward, placing her hand on Luna's shoulder. "Yes, my name is Mrs. Anderson; I'm from wizarding child services. I'm sorry for your loss. With no one to claim you as family we have a couple of choices to make."

"I will," Harry mumbled.

Everyone turned to look at him. "Pardon?" asked Mrs. Anderson.

Harry colored slightly at the attention but stood straighter. "I claim her as family," he said in a firm voice. Neville's jaw dropped open and Ron just gaped at him in shock, while Hermione and Ginny beamed at him.

Everyone looked at Luna. She turned calmly and placed her hand over his heart. "Before in deed, now shall it be in name."

Harry placed his hand on her chest. "Sister of my heart."

Luna smiled. "Now and forever."

"Now and forever," Harry repeated. Points of pink light swirled around the two of them like sparkling dust motes in a shaft of sunlight before winking out.

Mrs. Anderson smiled, writing on a parchment she pulled from her bag she indicated a line where Dumbledore signed his name, an unreadable expression on his face. Then gestured to Harry and he signed on one of the lines as well. She looked at his name and her eyes flicked to his forehead only for a second before she signed the last line. "Then I leave you in the custody of your brother." She said, and with another quick glance at Harry's forehead the three of them left.


End file.
